Colombia Finally Finds Their Man

After months of searching for the "ideal" candidate, the Colombian FA finally made it's choice to head the national team: Jorge Luis Pinto. He was brought before the press yesterday, saying all the right things about how happy he was and that this had always been his dream job. Pinto, about to turn 55, is currently the head man at Cucuta Deportivo. He currently has them in the finals of the Colombian Clausura playoffs, set to face off against Tolima over two legs starting on Sunday.

Pinto plans to hit the ground running on Thursday, the day after the second-leg of the finals. During his press conference, he made it a point to say that his main objective was to qualify for South Africa 2010. Not wanting to send the wrong signals, he cautioned by saying, "I don't mean to disparage the importance of the Copa America, it's a very important tournament for Colombians."

The new national team boss has coached the Costa Rican national team, six different Colombian club sides, a club from Costa Rica and another from Peru. While the speculation was that the FA might replace outgoing coach Reinaldo Rueda with a foreigner (Marcelo Bielsa was the rumored frontrunner), the backlash about not hiring a local grew louder and louder as the search ran on. In the end, they decided to play it safe hoping that Pinto could bring the country some respect after having not played in a World Cup since France '98.

Colombia hires Jorge Luis Pinto to lead national team [International Herald Tribune]

-ac