BERLIN (AP) -- Jose Pekerman quit as Argentina coach Friday, minutes after it lost to Germany in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Pekerman, whose contract was up after this year's tournament, announced he was stepping away after Argentina played Germany to a 1-1 tie and lost the shootout 4-2.

"For sure I am not going to continue," said the 56-year-old Pekerman, who took over the team in September of 2004 from Marcelo Bielsa.

Pekerman won three world youth titles for Argentina -- 1995, '97 and 2001 -- before moving up to the top job in Argentina soccer.

I really like pekerman alot,but its a real shame what happened today,argentina without doubt was the best team in the tournament but due to mistakes by pekerman they are out.Despite these mistakes i would like pekerman to stay but if not,bring out carlos bianchi.

he need to resign for taking out his own fav playmaker so early againts host in KO stage.

in such crucial time you need to make a gamble but a good one not a negative one. why not try messi , saviola or aimar?? its KO stage we had nothing to lose, you lost by small margin you still out, he should try that instead of bringing cruz or cambiasso.

remember that friendly game againts england? wht happen after riquelme's out? not an excuse, riquelme assisting 4 goal in 5 match and control his team.

I can't believe you didn't have Messi or Saviola playing from the start. With Tevez starting alongside Crespo you didn't have anyone forward with genuine pace. I think it was a stupid decision on Pekerman's behalf not to play arguably Argentina's most damaging player in Messi. Argentina were too slow in attack and Messi, or even Saviola I think could have changed that. I am a bit pissed that the Argies are out of it, as they were my pick to win the thing. I would have liked to see them in the final against Brazil.

it's just a pity that Messi didn't see much game time... it's a f*cking shame actually.

oh well.... Pekerman has surely had his dodgy decisions (e.g. Zanetti dropped) but yeh, back to square 1 for argentina.

This time we blowed again. Again by a coach.
Thw whole world might be surprised. When I saw Roman was out, especially Cruz in. I said it was over.
Anyway, I want to make a point that in recent years of WC campaigns from 1998 to 2006, too much emphasis of tactics and format and scheme really hurt a lot.

You have talents overflowing everywhere, yet you put a strong collar to them. I felt every is so constrained. In last night, So much possesion for 0 shots in first half.
Pekerman's success in youth tournaments may depend too much on decipline and tactics.

Some times you need to play loose, relaxed, and every one can play to their potential. Never say " you not fit my scheme" to a player. Scheme should be well adjusted.

Pekerman got it so wrong, I couldn't believe. 1st of all you don't change a winning side. Gonzalez & Tevez are good an popular players but the change was unnecessary.

Taking of Riquelme & Crespo; I still can't believe it happened. Does anyone know the logic behind it? WHY?

sven virus infected his mind,

you got one goal, now protect it!

Grandona says he wants pekerman to continue and he hasnt accepted pekermans resignation as yet,i hope that pekerman stays he has done a wonderful job and would lead argentina to great sucess in the future with the likes of messi,roman,saviola,tevez,aguero and others.

Riquelme and Crespo had to be taken off because they were dead tired. I thought Cambiasso was a good sub for Juan-Roman. He could defend to hold the lead and attack to hopefully put in another. It was a big mistake for Cruz to come on for Crespo though, what we needed was a quick attacking player to continue to press the German defense. We were unlucky that Pato got injured. If he hadn't Messi would've surely come on and if we'd still gone to penalties it would've been much different with him back there.

I hope Pekerman stays. I heard there was a polling of 100,000 people in Argentina and nearly 81% hoped he would stay.. For Argentina losing that is a.. stupefying percentage. I happen to agree with the populace, Pekerman is a great coach, people here do not at all give him the credit he deserves. It's become far to common and status quo to call him an idiot when he gave us the best squad to have a chance of winning the World Cup in years.

I'll try and find a source for the poll, maybe on Clarin.com, but I think it was in a newspaper so finding it will be difficult.

ballack was injured and kliensmen didnt take him off.
for that reason alon , kliensmen won

Pekerman has been a good coach, but as a Boca fan you all know what I'm going to say. After his Atlético contract is up, we need BIANCHI!!

If we get a new coach, who would you like to see take command? Bianchi, Passarella, Maradona, Gallego, Gallego, etc could all step up. I believe Bianchi to be one of the greatest South American coaches ever (if not the greatest) for what he has been able to accomplish. He was a very successful player and a very successful coach. Maradona, although he has had a short stint in the coaching scene, I believe could bring some of his experience and leadership and bring Argentina more glory. Keep in mind this is a new, cleaner version of Maradona than the one a decade ago. With the right staff he could also work wonders.

whoever the coach is, i dont want to see a ridiculous desicion during world cup. like bielsa refused to play a prime crespo upfront or pekerman putting all massive talents on the bench. cruz upfront and cambiasso on riquelme position againts germany... absolutely rubbish.

the new coach can start to proof their worthiness by winning copa america.

i dont know if maradona would be the right man or maybe not , but since he never try once ...who knows? i remember during his day 1986 & 1990 he had higher power then bilardo such as choosing caniggia instead of ramon diaz and somehow caniggia help the team to beat brazil & italy.

and dont forget when it comes to maradona tactic is number 2... the number one impact to the team would be an extra motivation with him as a coach.

but logically i'll go with bianchi. i also heard that bati is trying to become the NT coach.

I agree. This past decade we have seen a torrent of impressive talents such as Batistuta, Veron, Ortega, etc but have failed to capture the WC. And unfortunately, we can pin down every lost to almost a single (sometimes several) foolish act done by our coach. From not picking Redondo, to not pairing up 2 of the deadliest strikers at their prime, all the way to not playing the biggest promise of Argentine football since Maradona. We need someone reliable that will make the right decisions, not just a coach that has won awards before (ie Passarella, etc).

I dunno about Maradona as coach. I feel like too much media coverage would be given to him instead of the team, etc. That's the main reason I really hope Bianchi gets the job. Everyone knows that he's a world class coach (IMO one of the best in the world) and giving him a chance to shine at Copa America would be the logical thing to do. He's earned it, after all.

pasarella would have bigger chance to win in 1998 if ortega didnt lose control.
argentina lost at 90 mins of quarterfinal after that accident... The team never failed to score in all 5 games they played.

european team never won WC outside europe... 2010 is a big chance ... with many of young talent will reach their peak and messi will even better. No defensive thinking this time!

I don't mind if pekerman stays on.

I'm also uncertain if Diego could do it. As unskilz said with the right staff, who knows. He would no doubt be an inspiration, but for how long will that continue, when he interacts on a more regular basis with the players? One thing is for certain, he may not be a master tactitian, but he'll know what to do to break down another team, attack with full force.

Bianchi, would be good, because unlike at Atletico he will have at his disposal the type of players he likes and wants.

yes but i think maradona will give a chance to all players since he loves them all.

Maradona becomes coach and Messi becomes a certain starter. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I can see Maradona giving every young kid that shows promise a go on the NT. Of course, a book is a book but from his autobiography he has an excellent understanding of what goes on, on the pitch, as everybody knows his ability to see everything working around him on the field was a factor towards his greatness. The only problems I can foresee are the media (or more likely Maradona telling them to fuck off.) and possibly whether or not he has the ability to translate to his players what he wants them to do.

An untested coach (on an international level) can pay dividends if he has the qualities, regardless of CV. His passion for Argentina wouldn't go amiss either.

maradona knows how to handle media critics... like he ever care about it anyway?

We never know he's good as a coach or not until we see it. He had some short history as a coach but he handled a small club in very short period so its not really judge everything.

Maradona is a no-no for me. He is too combustible and too emotional for the job. Bianchi would be my pick.

emotional is better then over cautious coach like pekerman & bielsa. . I dont mind if the new coach will use 3 strikers and 3 attacking midfielder.

i nearly give up supporting argentina after these 2 coach refuse to use full striking force at world cup. you got nothing to lose at that kind of tournement, its not like playing more defensive will guarentee a win.

crespo was top score at serie A in 2002 but only came up for 10 minutes at worldcup ! (he still scored) and now i have to see aimar,messi,saviola,crespo & riquelme on the bench at quarterfinal. crespo didnt look effective up to the point where he was subtituted but nobody knows if he keep playing... This guy have score many goals at final minutes with his first touch despite being shit in previous 80 minutes. or did pekerman never saw his video at all?

Ballack wasnt only tired but also injured and kliensmen didnt take him out , klose didnt really have any clear chance before he scored that equiliser. So wht's the different between argentina & germany's coach ? simple, kliensmen had more guts.

do you guys think pekerman stupid sub was a big deal or not? if not and you easily forget that then get ready for being knockout again for some ridiculous mistake, again. Remember... 2 stupid desicion had cost 8 years waiting. If bianchi will step up then he better make argentina a full attacking team.

You don't give the Argentinean NT coaching position to the first person that applies for it. This is one of the most coveted coaching positions in the world. We are one of the top 5 nations of the world's most popular sport. And we are seriously discussing giving it to an untested coach? No, no, no, hell NO!!!!

I would rather see a foreinger coach our national team, rather than Diego; at this point. This is not the coaching position for Uracan. Sorry Diego. No go.

pekerman has officially quit.

Grondona has offered the job to Alfio 'Coco' Basile!!!! Our current coach has won every tournament Boca has entered, and although I never considered him for the post, I think he would be a great pick. Now the only thing that remains to be seen is whether Boca will let him go.

If he is let go, then we are in for a very rough season as we've lost Pocho, Bilos, and now the coach if he leaves.

Maradona