Ricardo Gareca is shaping up to be the new coach of the Colombian National Team

About a month and a half has passed since the link between the Colombian National Team and Reinaldo Rueda came to an end after the failure in the Qatar 2022 qualifier. Since then, countless names have come up to replace the Valle del Cauca strategist, however , The Colombian Football Federation (FCF) has been cautious with the issue and has not revealed many details of who could be the new helmsman for the next qualifying round.

Both from abroad and from the local, have been the strategists who have probed to reach the Tricolor bench. However, several have already closed the door to this option, due to the commitments they have with their respective teams in this 2022. And, although there are others who have given their arguments to wear the colors, the final decision will fall to the FCF.

Now, in the last hours, a name has taken more strength with respect to its contenders. This is the Argentine Ricardo Gareca, current strategist from Peru who has been in the orbit of the Tricolor for some time. The versions suggest that the ‘Tiger’, as he is nicknamed, would be the one indicated by the FCF to take the reins after finishing his year with Peru.

Given this strong rumour, WEEK took the task of asking directly at the Federation, where they gave a resounding no to the possible arrival of the coach who is ad doors to play the playoff with Peru to advance to the group stage.

Now, this is not the first time that the coach who knows what it is to lead in Colombia sounds like a candidate to arrive. In previous months, from the same Inca country they assured that this strategist was one of the closest, which generated a great stir.

“Gareca would have talked with the Colombian Federation and would have made it one of his conditions to play some of the matches at the Pascual Guerrero in Cali, his forte”was the information given by the journalist Vito Muñoz.

What does Garcia say?

Weeks ago after his name was revealed as a possible coach for several teams, Gareca was forceful and closed the door. “We would never allow ourselves to have an official contact right now. When we renew with the national team, regardless of whether it goes well or badly, I would not agree to talk to someone,” he said.

For the coach who had passed through several clubs in Colombia, it is not healthy to talk about this prior to his next challenge with Peru. “It would make me lose the commitment that I have with the national team and with a country. There is no possibility that I could talk to someone, neither with the team, nor with the national team, we are focused on the playoff”.

Gareca is confident that his team will play a great role in this playoff and later in the World Cup in Qatar, an event where he already knows in which group he will be placed if he wins. “We trust that it will go well for us, but we are not certain that, if it were to go wrong, having to revert, it is useless in my case, to arrange a contract with someone to leave and fix it in another place”, complement.

Group D would be the area where Peru would stop in case of advancing. There are the current world champion, France, Denmark and Tunisia.

Qatar 2022 groups

Group A: Qatar, Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador.

Group B: England, United States, Iran,

Group C: Argentina, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia.

Group D: France, Denmark, Tunisia, playoff 1 (Peru/Australia/United Arab Emirates).

Group E: Spain, Germany, Japan, playoff 2 (Costa Rica/New Zealand).

Group F: Belgium, Croatia, Morocco, Canada.

Group G: Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia, Cameroon.

Group H: Portugal, Uruguay, South Korea, Ghana.