Venezuela national football team

Venezuela
Nickname(s) La Vinotinto
Association Federación Venezolana de Fútbol (FVF)
Confederation CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach Rafael Dudamel
Captain Tomás Rincón
Most caps Juan Arango (128)
Top scorer Juan Arango (23)
Home stadium Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui
Polideportivo Cachamay
Estadio Pueblo Nuevo
FIFA code VEN
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 59 Increase 9 (24 November 2016)
Highest 29 (August 2014)
Lowest 129 (November 1998)
Elo ranking
Current 44 Decrease 5 (15 November 2016)
Highest 19 (July 17, 2011)
Lowest 127 (1993, 1995, 1999)
First international
 Panama 2–1 Venezuela Venezuela
(Panama City, Panama; February 12, 1938)
Biggest win
Venezuela Venezuela 7–0 Puerto Rico 
(Caracas, Venezuela; January 16, 1959)
Biggest defeat
 Argentina 11–0 Venezuela Venezuela
(Rosario, Argentina; August 10, 1975)
Copa América
Appearances 17 (first in 1967)
Best result Fourth place, 2011

The Venezuela national football team (Spanish: La selección de fútbol de Venezuela) represents Venezuela in men's international association football and is controlled by the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF), the governing body for football in Venezuela. It is nicknamed "La Vinotinto" ("The Burgundy") because of the traditional burgundy color of their shirts. When playing at home in official games, they usually rotate between three stadiums: The Polideportivo Cachamay in Puerto Ordaz, the Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto La Cruz and the Estadio Pueblo Nuevo in San Cristóbal. In friendly matches, they tend to rotate between the rest of the stadiums in the country.

Unlike other South American nations, and akin to some Caribbean nations, baseball is extremely popular in Venezuela, which diverts athletic talent away from football, contributing to its historic lack of success in CONMEBOL competitions. As of 2014, they are the only CONMEBOL side to have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Often Venezuela would go through entire qualification tournaments without recording a single win, although this has changed in the last two qualifying rounds. Until 2011, their best finish in the Copa América was fifth in their first entry, in 1967. It is only recently with the spread of the World Cup's popularity in nations where football was not the primary sport (such as Japan, the United States and Australia) that the national team found incentives to increase player development and fan support.

History

Backstory

Venezuela did not participate in FIFA World Cup qualification until the 1966 qualifiers in which they were drawn with Uruguay and Peru, but failed to register a point in four games. In the 1970 qualifiers they managed to register a point, and after withdrawing from the 1974 series, repeated that in the 1978 qualifiers. The 1982 qualifiers saw them register their first win, over Bolivia. They wouldn't register another World Cup qualifying win until the 1994 series when they defeated Ecuador. A highlight of the 1998 qualifiers was goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel scoring against Argentina in a 5–2 defeat.

Despite poor results during the 1960s and 1970s, outstanding players like Luis Mendoza and Rafael Santana achieved recognition.

The team failed to qualify for both the 2002, and 2006 World Cups. The latter failure resulted in the resignation of manager Richard Páez.

César Farías era

With new coach César Farías, Venezuela national team improved their performances. At the beginning of 2010, during qualifying, Venezuela won its first game in World Cup qualifying against the long unbeaten Ecuador in Quito. Something similar happened to Bolivia in La Paz, where Venezuela won for the first time at Bolivian altitude. Also, they received their first point against Brazil in qualifying. Despite not ultimately reaching the 2010, Venezuela achieved their best result in qualifying. They finished this round with 22 points in 18 matches, surpassing Peru and Bolivia for eighth place in the region.

On 6 June 2008, Venezuela achieved their second-ever triumph over Brazil, defeating the Seleção 2–0 in a friendly match in Boston, United States.

Venezuela obtained excellent results in the 2011 Copa América when they finished fourth, their highest finish in the tournament to date. With a squad composed mostly of players playing in Europe, they began 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification with a historic result (1–0) against Argentina in Puerto La Cruz, beating the Argentines for the first time.

Noel Sanvicente era

On 4 September 2014, Noel Sanvicente was made coach of the Venezuela national team.[1] On 5 September 2014, the team lost its first match with Sanvicente under the helm 3–1 against South Korea in Bucheon.[2]

Sanvicente's first tournament came in the 2015 Copa América, with Venezuela drawn in Group C of the competition. Their opening game finished with an upset victory over tournament favorites Colombia by 1–0, but subsequent defeats to Peru and Brazil saw La Vinotinto eliminated.

Venezuela began the World Cup qualification campaign with a 1–0 defeat against Paraguay at home, and would not earn their first point until their match against Peru, a 2–2 draw in Lima where Venezuela led until the last minute of stoppage time. Their match with Chile ended in a disappointing 4–1 defeat, Sanvicente announced his resignation a week later after mutual consent with the FVF. At the time of Sanvicente's departure, Venezuela was last in the qualification standings with a sole point.

Rafael Dudamel era

Sanvicente was replaced by Rafael Dudamel. Under his coaching, La Vinotinto quickly improved and reached the quarterfinals in the Copa América Centenario, with two 0–1 wins over Jamaica and Uruguay and a 1–1 draw against Mexico in the group stage and then a 4–1 defeat to Argentina in the quarter-finals. In the 7th matchday of the 2018 World Cup qualifier, Venezuela lost to Colombia 2–0 in Barranquilla, the first loss against Los Cafeteros since 2009. Later, on matchday 11, Venezuela won for the first time in the qualifier, 5–0 over Bolivia in Maturín with a hat-trick from Josef Martínez and goals from Jacobo Koufatti and Rómulo Otero.

Copa América history

Venezuela first participated in the Copa América in 1967, and finished fifth after defeating Bolivia 3–0 with a side containing Mendoza and Santana. The 1975 tournament saw Venezuela drawn in a group with Brazil and Argentina, and finished bottom with an 11–0 defeat to Argentina. In the 1979 edition, which would be the international swansong for Mendoza and Santana, they drew 0–0 with Colombia and 1–1 with Chile. A highlight of the 1989 tournament was midfielder Carlos Maldonado's four goals. In the 1993 series, Venezuela drew with Uruguay and the United States.

The team's overall Copa América record has been relatively poor (goal difference 33–145 before the 2011 Copa América), but the "Auge Vinotinto" (Vinotinto Rise) period in the early 2000s (decade) brought increased attention to the sport in the country, which in turn brought increased support from both government and private institutions. Said support contributed greatly to the "Vinotinto's" rise in quality. In 2007, during the Copa América held in Venezuela, the team progressed to the quarterfinals for the first time in its history after finishing first in a group containing Peru, Bolivia and Uruguay. Venezuela's 2–0 victory over Peru during the competition was its first Copa América victory since 1967.

2011 Copa América

At the 2011 Copa América championship, Venezuela reached the semi-finals round for the first time by defeating Chile in the quarter-final, 2–1. Despite their commanding presence against Paraguay in their semifinal, Venezuela were unable to convert their chances into goals. They would eventually lose 5–3 to Paraguay in a penalty shootout after remaining scoreless in normal and extra time. Venezuela and Peru played for third place at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, where Venezuela would suffer their biggest loss of the tournament, losing 4–1 to Peru and falling into fourth place overall. Nonetheless, it was their best ever finish at the competition.

Group B:

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Brazil 312064+25
 Venezuela 312043+15
 Paraguay 30305503
 Ecuador 301225−31

Results:

Historical kits

(1926)
(1967)
(1970)
(1977)
(1979)
(1981)
(1982)
(1986)
(1989)
(1990)
(1993)
(1994)
(1995)
(1996)
(1997)
(1998)
(1999)
(1999)
(2001)
(2004)
(2005)
(2007)
(2010)
(2011)
(2011– 2013)

Current status

Recent and forthcoming matches

Matches from the past 12 months as well as any future scheduled matches.

2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification Standings

{{2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONMEBOL table |show_matches=yes |showteam=VEN}}

Players

Current squad

The following 28 players were called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification games against Bolivia on November 10, and Ecuador on November 15, 2016. [3]
Caps and goals are correct as of November 15, 2016, after the game against Ecuador.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Dani Hernández (1985-10-21) October 21, 1985 31 0 Spain Tenerife
1GK José Contreras (1994-10-20) October 20, 1994 3 0 Venezuela Deportivo Táchira
1GK Wuilker Faríñez (1998-02-15) February 15, 1998 1 0 Venezuela Caracas
2DF Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (1984-05-31) May 31, 1984 81 8 France Nantes
2DF Roberto Rosales (1988-11-20) November 20, 1988 68 0 Spain Málaga
2DF Alexander González (1992-09-13) September 13, 1992 41 1 Spain Huesca
2DF José Manuel Velázquez (1990-09-08) September 8, 1990 23 2 Portugal Arouca
2DF Wilker Ángel (1993-03-18) March 18, 1993 14 2 Russia Terek Grozny
2DF Rolf Feltscher (1990-10-06) October 6, 1990 14 0 Spain Getafe
2DF Mikel Villanueva (1993-04-14) April 14, 1993 11 1 Spain Málaga
2DF Víctor García (1994-06-11) June 11, 1994 4 0 Portugal Nacional
2DF Rubert Quijada (1989-02-10) February 10, 1989 3 0 Venezuela Caracas
2DF Jhon Chancellor (1992-01-02) January 2, 1992 0 0 Venezuela La Guaira
3MF Tomás Rincón (Captain) (1988-01-13) January 13, 1988 81 0 Italy Genoa
3MF Rómulo Otero (1992-11-09) November 9, 1992 21 5 Brazil Atlético Mineiro
3MF Arquímedes Figuera (1989-10-06) October 6, 1989 17 1 Venezuela La Guaira
3MF Adalberto Peñaranda (1997-05-31) May 31, 1997 11 0 Italy Udinese
3MF Arles Flores (1991-04-12) April 12, 1991 4 0 Venezuela La Guaira
3MF Jhon Murillo (1995-11-21) November 21, 1995 5 1 Portugal Tondela
3MF Jacobo Kouffati (1993-06-30) June 30, 1993 4 1 Ecuador Deportivo Cuenca
3MF Luis González (1990-12-22) December 22, 1990 4 0 Venezuela Monagas
3MF Yeferson Soteldo (1997-06-30) June 30, 1997 3 0 Venezuela Zamora
3MF Renzo Zambrano (1994-08-26) August 26, 1994 2 0 Spain Real Valladolid B
3MF Yangel Herrera (1998-01-07) January 7, 1998 1 0 Venezuela Atlético Venezuela
4FW Josef Martínez (1993-05-19) May 19, 1993 37 9 Italy Torino
4FW Christian Santos (1988-03-24) March 24, 1988 11 1 Spain Alavés
4FW Edder Farías (1988-04-12) April 12, 1988 9 2 Venezuela Caracas
4FW Manuel Arteaga (1994-06-17) June 17, 1994 3 0 Bolivia The Strongest

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Eduardo Herrera (1993-06-06) June 6, 1993 0 0 Venezuela Deportivo Lara v.  Costa Rica, May 27, 2016
GK Alain Baroja (1989-10-23) October 23, 1989 13 0 Uruguay Sud América v.  Chile, March 29, 2016
GK Luis Rojas (1988-04-30) April 30, 1988 0 0 Venezuela La Guaira v.  Costa Rica, February 2, 2016
DF Yordan Osorio (1994-05-10) May 10, 1994 0 0 Venezuela Zamora v.  Brazil, October 11, 2016
DF Daniel Benitez (1987-09-23) September 23, 1987 1 0 Venezuela Mineros de Guayana v.  Costa Rica, May 27, 2016
DF Andrés Túñez (1987-03-15) March 15, 1987 16 0 Thailand Buriram United Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
DF Jefre Vargas (1995-01-12) January 12, 1995 1 0 Venezuela Caracas Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
DF Ángel Faría (1983-04-28) April 28, 1983 2 0 Venezuela Zamora v.  Chile, March 29, 2016
DF Francisco Carabalí (1991-03-24) March 24, 1991 5 0 Venezuela Mineros de Guayana v.  Costa Rica, February 2, 2016
DF Oscar González (1992-02-25) February 25, 1992 0 0 Venezuela La Guaira v.  Costa Rica, February 2, 2016
DF Diego Melean (1992-02-13) February 13, 1992 0 0 Venezuela La Guaira v.  Costa Rica, February 2, 2016
DF Edwin Peraza (1993-03-11) March 11, 1993 0 0 Venezuela Zamora v.  Costa Rica, February 2, 2016
MF Alejandro GuerraINJ (1985-07-09) July 9, 1985 61 4 Colombia Atlético Nacional v.  Bolivia, November 10, 2016
MF Juan Pablo AñorINJ (1994-01-24) January 24, 1994 11 1 Spain Málaga v.  Bolivia, November 10, 2016
MF Aristóteles Romero (1995-10-18) October 18, 1995 0 0 Venezuela Mineros de Guayana v.  Brazil, October 11, 2016
MF Agnel Flores (1989-05-29) May 29, 1989 14 0 Venezuela Deportivo Táchira v.  Argentina, September 6, 2016
MF Luis Manuel Seijas (1986-06-23) June 23, 1986 67 2 Brazil Internacional Copa América Centenario
MF Carlos Suárez (1992-04-26) April 26, 1992 1 0 Venezuela Carabobo Copa América Centenario
MF César González (1982-10-01) October 1, 1982 62 5 Brazil Coritiba Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
MF Ronald Vargas (1986-12-02) December 2, 1986 22 3 Greece AEK Athens Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
MF Carlos Cermeño (1995-08-08) August 8, 1995 1 0 Venezuela Deportivo Táchira Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
MF Rafael Acosta (1989-02-13) February 13, 1989 12 0 Venezuela Mineros de Guayana v.  Costa Rica, February 2, 2016
MF Ángelo Peña (1989-12-25) December 25, 1989 12 0 Venezuela Deportivo Táchira v.  Costa Rica, February 2, 2016
MF Javier García (1987-04-22) April 22, 1987 1 0 Venezuela La Guaira v.  Costa Rica, February 2, 2016
MF Johan Moreno (1991-06-10) June 10, 1991 1 0 Chile Deportes Antofagasta v.  Costa Rica, February 2, 2016
FW Salomón RondónINJ (1989-09-16) September 16, 1989 57 18 England West Bromwich Albion v.  Bolivia, November 10, 2016
FW Yonathan Del Valle (1990-05-28) May 28, 1990 13 0 Turkey Bursaspor v.  Brazil, October 11, 2016
FW Andrés Ponce (1996-11-11) November 11, 1996 2 0 Switzerland Lugano v.  Brazil, October 11, 2016
FW Jeffrén Suárez (1988-01-20) January 20, 1988 4 0 Belgium Eupen v.  Panama, May 24, 2016
FW Mario Rondón (1986-03-26) March 26, 1986 13 3 China Shijiazhuang Ever Bright Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
FW Gelmin Rivas (1989-03-23) March 23, 1989 3 0 United Arab Emirates Al-Sharjah Copa América Centenario preliminary squad
FW Richard Blanco (1982-01-21) January 21, 1982 14 2 Venezuela Mineros de Guayana v.  Chile, March 29, 2016
FW Jesús Lugo (1991-09-14) September 14, 1991 3 0 Venezuela Aragua v.  Costa Rica, February 2, 2016

Records

Most caps

Midfielder Juan Arango had played the most matches for Venezuela: 128 between 1999 and 2015.

Blue highlights denotes active players.

Position Name Period caps Goals
1 Juan Arango 1999–2015 128 23
2 José Manuel Rey 1997–2011 115 11
3 Jorge Alberto Rojas 1999–2009 91 3
4 Miguel Mea Vitali 1999–2012 85 1
5 Oswaldo Vizcarrondo 2004– 81 8
Tomás Rincón 2008– 81 0
7 Gabriel Urdaneta 1996–2005 77 9
Luis Vallenilla 1996–2007 77 1
9 Roberto Rosales 2007– 68 0
10 Luis Manuel Seijas 2006– 67 2
As of November 15, 2016[4]

Top scorers

Blue highlights denotes active players.

Position Name Period Goals Caps Goals/Caps Ratio
1 Juan Arango 1999–2015 23 128 0.18
2 Giancarlo Maldonado 2003–2011 22 65 0.33
3 Salomón Rondón 2008– 18 57 0.32
4 Ruberth Morán 1996–2007 14 65 0.22
5 Daniel Arismendi 2006–2011 11 31 0.35
José Manuel Rey 1997–2011 11 115 0.10
Nicolás Fedor 2006– 11 53 0.21
8 Gabriel Urdaneta 1996–2005 9 77 0.12
Josef Martínez 2011– 9 37 0.24
10 Oswaldo Vizcarrondo 2004– 8 81 0.10
As of November 15, 2016[5]

Competitive record

World Cup record

Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
1930 to 1954Did not enter
1958Withdrew
1962Did not enter
1966 to 1970Did not qualify
1974Withdrew
1978 to 2014Did not qualify

Head to head

Copa América record

  • 1916 to 1963 – Did not enter
  • 1967 – 5th
  • 1975 – Round 1 (overall 10th place)
  • 1979 – Round 1 (overall 10th place)
  • 1983 – Round 1 (overall 10th place)
  • 1987 – Round 1 (overall 10th place)
  • 1989 – Round 1 (overall 10th place)
  • 1991 – Round 1 (overall 10th place)
  • 1993 – Round 1 (overall 11th place)
  • 1995 – Round 1 (overall 12th place)
  • 1997 – Round 1 (overall 12th place)
  • 1999 – Round 1 (overall 12th place)
  • 2001 – Round 1 (overall 12th place)
  • 2004 – Round 1 (overall 11th place)
  • 2007 – Quarter-finals (overall 6th place)
  • 2011 – 4th Place
  • 2015 – Round 1 (overall 9th place)
  • 2016 – Quarter-finals (overall 6th place)

Pan American Games record

References

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