Néstor Lorenzo will have his last 90 minutes as coach of Melgar de Arequipa this Wednesday. After a successful stint in Peruvian football, with a local title and the possibility of reaching the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana, the Argentine ends his first experience as a manager on property.
Now, Lorenzo is getting ready for the biggest challenge of his coaching career: on July 15, he will assume duties as Colombia’s national coach, replacing Reinaldo Rueda. You already know the environment: for six and a half years, he was at José Pékerman’s side, in a cycle that once again took the National Team to the World Cup, after a 16-year absence, and then achieved the best appearance in Colombia, by reaching the quarterfinals.
In his last hours as coach of Melgar, and in the midst of the transition to Colombia, Lorenzo gave an interview to ESPN’s Balón Divided, in which he spoke about his present and his future.
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Lorenzo and the renewal of the Colombian National Team
Lorenzo is aware that there must be a renewal in the National Team, but that this process must be gradual. “I believe that there is a legacy that must be left to the youngest, so that the transition and replacement is as solid as possible. We need to play, be together, share, That is essential to put together a strong group with objectives, I am satisfied with the friendlies that were made. Take advantage of the Fifa dates, there is no more. You have to analyze which players are available”, he explained.
The new coach of the National Team was pleased with the support he received from the team’s history. “I take those words well. With the boys we had close to seven years of coexistence, one knows the people. It is important to go beyond football. They value what we did with José (Pékerman), at that moment of glory, I was part of that process. Now I will have to take charge of another process, which I want to be just as successful and more successful than the other one”, he pointed out.
Lorenzo highlighted the role that Luis Díaz has fulfilled in Liverpool and the importance that he will have in the team for what is to come: “He is having a great time, he is a player who fully identifies with the National Team. We will work with humility and enthusiasm, to take Colombia to the top of the spectrum of world football, ”he assured.
The Argentine does not rule out doing microcycles with players from the local environment, although he affirms that he will take them into account. “We are investigating the calendars, we must try. We would like to work with the local players, so that they know the way of working and thinking. In each call these players can be important, in lesser or greater quantity. It’s good to meet them and have them on our side,” he said.
Melgar’s transition to the Colombian National Team
Lorenzo will say goodbye to Melgar de Arequipa this Wednesday, when he hosts Deportivo Cali in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana. After drawing a goalless draw in Palmaseca, he wants to leave his team installed in the next phase.
“On the one hand, the challenge is to meet the people of Melgar, to finish in the best way, to focus on the day to day. The Selection requires a short, medium and long term programming. I already have a work schedule for the times and others. It helped us that the group of us with Melgar, they know us, our way of working, of thinking, they are identified with the idea. That helps a lot to keep things flowing,” he stated.
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Lorenzo also spoke about the way he was hired for the Colombian National Team, which meant waiting for his commitment to Melgar to end, whom he won as champion on Sunday in Peru.
“I took a risk: to continue in Melgar, being nominated in Colombia. The contract was offered in mid-July, I wanted to finish here in the best way. When I was announced, there are always many candidates, with aspirations. Surely there were other great technicians in the pipeline. There was a strange situation here, with three dates stopped the championship in Peru, that’s where everything began to take shape, “he concluded.
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