Reinaldo Rueda leaves the Chilean national team to lead Colombia

Reinaldo Rueda, during a match of the Chilean national team in November 2018. PABLO VERA / AFP

Reinaldo Rueda is the new coach of his native Colombia after reaching an agreement to break his ties with Chile, which finally defines his future after several weeks of negotiations.

The Colombian Football Federation (FCF) thus returns to the national technicians to set the course after having concluded the almost two-year cycle of Carlos Queiroz at the beginning of December.

Under the command of the Portuguese, an unrecognizable team suffered two humiliating defeats against Uruguay and Ecuador that led to shipwreck when only four of the 18 qualifying dates for the 2022 World Cup have been played. Before Queiroz, the Argentine José Pékerman led Colombia to the last two World Cups.

"Professor Reinaldo Rueda is, as of this date, the new technical director of the Colombia Men's Senior National Team", the FCF announced this Thursday in a statement in which it thanked the Chilean federation and its president, Pablo Milad, " with whom there was dialogue and communication at all times ”.

After concluding the process of the Colombian strategist, the National Professional Soccer Association of Chile (ANFP) must now look for a new coach.

All roads in Colombia led to Rueda (Cali, 63 years old).

His valuable experience made him the natural candidate who generated the most consensus - despite the fact that a sector of the fans longed for Pékerman's return, an option that the managers ruled out very soon.

There are not many coaches who have coached both in the demanding South American tie as in the World Cup, and who have also shone directing clubs.

Rueda's service record, who made a name for himself at the helm of Colombia's youth teams, is hard to match.

It includes having led Honduras to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa - after a long absence from competitions of 28 years - and Ecuador until Brazil 2014, as well as crowning Atlético Nacional de Medellín champion of the Copa Libertadores in 2016.

In addition, he already led the Colombian senior team with a good balance, despite being eliminated towards Germany 2006. Rueda took a team in free fall at that time after four dates in which, under the direction of Francisco Maturana , had only added one point of the 12 in dispute.

Although he failed to qualify, he kept alive the possibility of an unlikely comeback until the last day.

His most recent stint on the Chilean bench, which he reached at the beginning of 2018, has been full of turbulence.

Rueda proposed a renovation that did not come to fruition at all.

Dependent on Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sánchez, the incombustible leaders of the golden generation that won two editions of the Copa América, he was left out of the World Cup in Russia.

In these qualifying rounds, the South American Red accumulates the same four points as Colombia in the qualifying rounds.

The coach will have in Colombia a generation settled in European football.

At 29, James Rodríguez, used by Queiroz as a false winger, continues to be called to pull the strings of the team.

He is accompanied, among others, by defender Yerry Mina, his teammate at Everton;

the

Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, who this season shines as a winger at Juventus;

and the powerful forward Duván Zapata, from Atalanta, who has broken into the starting line-up over Falcao García, who has been weighed down by injuries this season at Galatasaray.

Rueda will also meet again the midfielder Mateus Uribe, from Porto, and the central Davinson Sánchez, from Tottenham, part of the litter that the Libertadores raised with Nacional de Medellín under the orders of the Valle del Cauca coach.

Colombia took a leap in quality in the last two World Cups, under the leadership of Pékerman.

By reaching the quarterfinals in Brazil, he surpassed what was his best performance until then - the knockout stages of Italy 90 - and James Rodríguez was the golden boot with six goals.

In Russia, with less luster, they lost on penalties to England in the round of 16.

With his calm leadership, without fanfare, the Argentine became the coach who has led Colombia in more World Cup matches (9), above 'Pacho' Maturana, and along the way he won the affection of the Colombians .

Queiroz was unable to repeat those achievements.

The defeats against Uruguay in Barranquilla (0-3) and Ecuador in Quito (6-1), unprecedented defeats against direct rivals, sentenced the fate of the Portuguese amid persistent rumors about internal fights between the players that the FCF has denied.

The coffee team - which has not lost two games in a row in qualifying rounds since 2009 - is located with four points in seventh place in the table, outside the classification zone although just two units from fourth place, the last one that grants a direct ticket . Everything is to be defined. The South American qualifiers return in March, when Rueda makes his debut in command of Colombia against Brazil de Tite, a solo leader with a perfect score (12), and then visits Paraguay, which is marching for now in that coveted fourth place with six units. Chile will host Paraguay and then visit Ecuador on that double day. Rueda will also host the Copa América in the middle of the year, postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus, in which Colombia shares the headquarters with Argentina and will host the final in Barranquilla.