left Spain. When Marcelo Bielsa resigned as coach, Pékerman was one of the two candidates for the coaching job, alongside Carlos Bianchi, who had left Boca Juniors a few months earlier, and wanted to take a sabbatical year away from football. Argentina On 15 September 2004, Pékerman was named coach of Argentina, which qualified for the 2006 World Cup. The nation dominated its initial two group stage matches and drew with the Netherlands in the third match, emerging on top of their group on goal difference. The Albicelestes then moved on to the round of 16, beating Mexico 2–1 after extra time in a comeback victory. In the quarter-finals, Argentina went ahead 1–0 against hosts Germany, but shortly before the end of the match, Germany equalised through a Miroslav Klose header. Germany would go on to win on penalties, sending Argentina out of the tournament. Pékerman made defensive substitutions, including taking off Juan Román Riquelme for Esteban Cambiasso, and after the loss, announced his resignation. Argentine Football Association (AFA) President Julio Grondona tried to dissuade Pékerman from leaving, but it was later announced that Alfio Basile, who had previously coached Argentina during the 1994 World Cup, would replace him as coach. Coaching in Mexico On 30 May 2007, Pékerman resumed his coaching career, taking up the position of head coach of Club Toluca in Mexico, replacing fellow Argentine Américo Gallego. At the end of the Clausura 2008 tournament, he was replaced by José Manuel de la Torre. On 23 February 2009, Pékerman was appointed as the head coach of UANL Tigres after the sacking of Manuel Lapuente following a series of bad results. After the end of Clausura 2009, however, he was terminated and replaced by Daniel Guzmán. In July 2010, it had been reported that Pékerman was in serious talks with the Australian national team, as well as talks with the Japanese national team about taking over the role as senior manager following the resignation of their managers. Colombia In January 2012, Pékerman became the new coach of the Colombia national team, replacing ousted coach Leonel Álvarez. Pékerman was the third coach of the Colombia team during the South American World Cup qualifiers; before Álvarez, Hernán Darío Gómez was at the helm. For his first match, a friendly against Mexico, Pékerman impressed, with the Colombians completely taking control of the friendly in an eventual 2–0 victory. In his first