Lima, March 13 (IANS) Former Uruguayan footballer Pablo Bengoechea has been officially appointed as the new coach of Peru’s national soccer team.

“We accepted this challenge with a lot of responsibility and we will try to make the players feel comfortable so they can develop the football they know,” Xinhua quoted the new coach as saying at a press conference organised by the Peruvian Football Federation.

The former midfielder for Uruguayan team Penarol served as first assistant to Uruguayan coach Sergio Markarian, when he was in charge of Peru’s national team.

Asked about criticism from some fans, due to his links to Markarian, he said, “It doesn’t change the way I am…My mission is to have the players give all.”

Earlier in the day, a group of disgruntled fans insulted Bengoechea as he arrived at Lima’s international airport.

His first test will be to prepare the players for upcoming friendlies with England at the end of May and Switzerland at the beginning of June, as training towards the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

His contract ends in July 2015.