Bocha Batista made official as Venezuela manager after Pekerman’s unexpected departure and allegations against his rep

The Argentine Fernando the Baptist was named this Friday as the new coach of the selection of Venezuelajust two days after José Pekerman suddenly terminated his contractual relationship with the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF).

Batista, 52, will take over the position that has been vacated following the departures of Pekerman and Pascual Lezcano, the experienced DT representative who had also been director of the Venezuelan teams.

“The people who have taken on this responsibility are the people who have shown commitment and loyalty to the project,” said Jorge Giménez, president of the FVF, at a press conference. The contract will last for four years, he added.

“I am here to speak to you transparently, as has been my commitment since I assumed the presidency,” was how Giménez opened the press conference. And then, he made the formal announcement of the new coaching staff: “I’m here to announce who will lead our national team. It will be Fernando Batista, together with Leandro Cufré, Jorge Pidal and Vicente Rosales, to whom I ask for their full support.”.

He petanquemaking his first experience as head coach, was Pekerman’s assistant on the pitch for all 10 games the former Argentina coach was in charge.

The younger brother of Checho Batista, world champion at Mexico 86 and former coach of Argentina, has a long history, but always in the youth team or busy in training positions. His journey began in 2005 as coordinator of the juniors of Argentinos Juniors, a team in which he trained and made his debut as a professional footballer. His stay at the Bicho de la Paternal lasted 11 years.

And after that first experience, he started his career in the youth teams. In 2016, when Claudio Úbeda was appointed under-20 manager, Batista was his assistant on the pitch. That cycle only lasted 8 months.

His next destination was, to say the least, extravagant. In early 2018 he packed his bags and went on a trip to Armenia. There he was appointed in charge of the Under 18 and Under 19 teams. It was only 9 months on the job and he ended up walking away from the position.

In 2019, the biggest challenge of his career up to that point knocked on his door. He was appointed coach of the Argentina Under-20 team. As time passed, he ended up taking charge of the Sub-23. Among his achievements can be found the gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima with the Olympic team and the 2020 Sub-23 Pre-Olympic which took place in Colombia.

After a two-and-a-half-year cycle, he received a call from Pekerman to join his coaching staff, more specifically as a field assistant, in the challenge of trying to make Venezuela competitive. Without imagining it, and after the dismissal of whoever was in charge of the project, Batista was appointed coach of the senior team and will have his first experience in that role.

The reasons for Pekerman’s departure from Venezuela

A number of arguments explaining his unexpected departure quickly circulated from Pekerman’s circle. They ensure that he had set as a condition to carry out his work, a reserve tournament – called the Projection Tournament – to strengthen the growth of local football. However, the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF) did not follow up on the initiative and the short circuit would have been one of the reasons for the coach’s decision, although not the only one.

Another violation involved promising improvements to the properties and facilities where the team was required to work. Alsoaccording to the statements of a source gathered by the sports newspaper Olé, there has been an “accumulation of debts with staff and collaborators, which has made everyday life difficult in recent times”

That sum of violations would have ended the process that began early last year and continued until 2026, just like the Pekerman seal, a lover of long-term projects. However, the other bell also has its own versions.

News reports in Venezuela on Pekerman’s departure

Before confirming Batista and company, the Venezuelan football boss continued with the controversy that caught the breath of Vinotinto fans and made an elevated shot towards Pekerman and Lezcano. “It is important that every member of the FVF lives up to the commitment beyond the talent. Our football deserves the best on and off the pitch,” he commented.

Several Venezuelan journalistsunlike the reasons given by Pekerman’s side, They ensure that his departure would be linked to financial irregularities related to Lezcano, the right arm of the coach.

Pedro Bozo, Carlos Domingues and Fernando Petrocelli were some of the journalists who targeted the Lezcano leadership.

“The FVF carried out an internal audit. Lezcano (Venezuela coach) was asked for responsibility, received and the outcome was not positive. Pekerman was asked to put it aside while we cleared up the situation and generated the short in the project. I am convinced that both sides knew who they were dealing with. FVF must have been aware of the nature of the relationship between Pekerman and his agent. While DT had to take into account the complex world of Venezuelan football when accepting the offer” Bozo said.

Pipe Sierra, an Argentine journalist working in Colombia, said he handled the same information as his colleagues. “Pascual Lezcano would leave the position of Manager in Venezuela. Several sources tell me that administrative irregularities have been discovered; lack of ethics and transparency, similar to what was rumored in Colombia,” she wrote on his Twitter account.

Finally, to give magnitude to this, Javier Hernández Bonnet, journalist, Colombian sports commentator and general manager of the Caracol Gol outlet, would claim to have the amounts of the irregularity. “They did an audit on Pascual Lezcano and one was $20,000 short, another was $15,000. In a later one there were 10 thousand. So they asked him to hand over the job of director of selections, while they carry out a check and can establish whether it is an accounting error or, precisely, there is a shortage”. Surely everything will end in justice.