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 (129)
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	69 11 (6 July 2017)
Highest	29 (August 2014)
Lowest	129 (November 1998)
Elo ranking
Current	43 (5 May 2017)
Highest	19 (July 17, 2011)
Lowest	127 (1993, 1995, 1999)
First international
Panama 3–1 Venezuela (Panama City, Panama; February 12, 1938)
Biggest win
Venezuela 7–0 Puerto Rico  (Caracas, Venezuela; January 16, 1959)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 11–0 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 2018, 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 former Vinotinto goalkeeper 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 Kouffati 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	3	1	2	0	6	4	+2	5
Venezuela	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	5
Paraguay	3	0	3	0	5	5	0	3
Ecuador	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1

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 27 players were called up for the friendly matches against  United States on June 3, and  Ecuador on June 8, 2017.^[3]
Caps and goals are correct as of June 9, 2017, after the game against Ecuador.

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Alain Baroja	(1989-10-23) October 23, 1989	14	0	Caracas
	1GK	José Contreras	(1994-10-20) October 20, 1994	5	0	Deportivo Táchira
	2DF	Alexander González	(1992-09-13) September 13, 1992	44	1	Huesca
	2DF	José Manuel Velázquez	(1990-09-08) September 8, 1990	25	3	Veracruz
	2DF	Rolf Feltscher	(1990-10-06) October 6, 1990	17	0	Getafe
	2DF	Mikel Villanueva	(1993-04-14) April 14, 1993	14	2	Cádiz
	2DF	Pablo Camacho	(1990-10-12) October 12, 1990	4	0	Deportivo Táchira
	2DF	Rubert Quijada	(1989-02-10) February 10, 1989	4	0	Al-Gharafa
	2DF	Yordan Osorio	(1994-05-10) May 10, 1994	2	0	Tondela
	2DF	Jefre Vargas	(1995-01-12) January 12, 1995	2	0	Arouca
	2DF	John Chancellor	(1992-01-02) January 2, 1992	1	0	Delfín
	2DF	José Marrufo	(1996-02-06) February 6, 1996	0	0	Mineros de Guayana
	3MF	Alejandro Guerra (Retired)	(1985-07-09) July 9, 1985	61	3	Palmeiras
	3MF	Rómulo Otero	(1992-11-09) November 9, 1992	24	7	Atlético Mineiro
	3MF	Francisco Flores	(1990-04-30) April 30, 1990	28	1	Mineros de Guayana
	3MF	Arquímedes Figuera	(1989-10-06) October 6, 1989	20	1	Universitario
	3MF	Jhon Murillo	(1995-11-21) November 21, 1995	9	0	Kasımpaşa
	3MF	Jacobo Kouffati	(1993-06-30) June 30, 1993	5	1	Millonarios
	3MF	Darwin Machís	(1993-02-07) February 7, 1993	6	0	Granada
	3MF	Júnior Moreno	(1993-07-20) July 20, 1993	2	1	Zulia
	3MF	Francisco La Mantía	(1996-02-24) February 24, 1996	1	0	La Guaira
	3MF	Aristóteles Romero	(1995-10-18) October 18, 1995	1	0	Mineros de Guayana
	3MF	Jefferson Savarino	(1996-11-11) November 11, 1996	1	0	Real Salt Lake
	4FW	Salomón Rondón	(1989-09-16) September 16, 1989	61	19	West Bromwich Albion
	4FW	Christian Santos	(1988-03-24) March 24, 1988	11	1	Alavés
	4FW	Edder Farías	(1988-04-12) April 12, 1988	8	2	Once Caldas
	4FW	Andrés Ponce	(1996-11-11) November 11, 1996	4	0	Livorno

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	Wuilker Faríñez	(1998-02-15) February 15, 1998	3	0	Caracas	v.  Chile, March 28, 2017
GK	Joel Graterol	(1997-02-13) February 13, 1997	0	0	Zamora	v.  Chile, March 28, 2017
GK	Dani Hernández	(1985-10-21) October 21, 1985	31	0	Tenerife	v.  Ecuador, November 15, 2016
DF	Wilker Ángel	(1993-03-18) March 18, 1993	16	2	Akhmat Grozny	v.  Chile, March 28, 2017
DF	Víctor García	(1994-06-11) June 11, 1994	5	0	Porto	v.  Chile, March 28, 2017
DF	Oswaldo Vizcarrondo	(1984-05-31) May 31, 1984	81	8	Troyes	v.  Ecuador, November 15, 2016
DF	Roberto Rosales	(1988-11-20) November 20, 1988	68	0	Málaga	v.  Ecuador, November 15, 2016
MF	Tomás Rincón (Captain)	(1988-01-13) January 13, 1988	83	0	Torino	v.  Chile, March 28, 2017
MF	Adalberto Peñaranda	(1997-05-31) May 31, 1997	12	0	Malaga	v.  Chile, March 28, 2017
MF	Yeferson Soteldo	(1997-06-30) June 30, 1997	4	0	Huachipato	v.  Chile, March 28, 2017
MF	Renzo Zambrano	(1994-08-26) August 26, 1994	3	0	Real Valladolid B	v.  Chile, March 28, 2017
MF	Yangel Herrera	(1998-01-07) January 7, 1998	2	0	New York City	v.  Chile, March 28, 2017
MF	Arles Flores	(1991-04-12) April 12, 1991	4	0	La Guaira	v.  Bolivia, November 10, 2016
MF	Luis González	(1990-12-22) December 22, 1990	3	0	FC Dallas	v.  Bolivia, November 10, 2016
MF	Juan Pablo Añor	(1994-01-24) January 24, 1994	11	1	Málaga	v.  Bolivia, November 10, 2016 INJ
MF	Agnel Flores	(1989-05-29) May 29, 1989	14	0	Monagas	v.  Argentina, September 6, 2016
FW	Josef Martínez	(1993-05-19) May 19, 1993	38	9	Atlanta United	v.  Chile, March 28, 2017
FW	Manuel Arteaga	(1994-06-17) June 17, 1994	3	0	La Guaira	v.  Ecuador, November 15, 2016
FW	Yonathan Del Valle	(1990-05-28) May 28, 1990	13	0	Rio Ave	v.  Brazil, October 11, 2016

Records

Most caps

Blue highlights denotes active players.

Position	Name	Period	caps	Goals
1	Juan Arango	1999–2015	129	23
2	José Manuel Rey	1997–2011	111	11
3	Jorge Alberto Rojas	1999–2009	88	3
4	Miguel Mea Vitali	1999–2012	84	1
5	Tomás Rincón	2008–	83	0
6	Oswaldo Vizcarrondo	2004–	82	8
7	Gabriel Urdaneta	1996–2005	76	9
8	Luis Vallenilla	1996–2007	75	1
9	Roberto Rosales	2007–	68	0
10	Luis Manuel Seijas	2006–	67	2
As of 3 June 2017[4]

Top scorers

Blue highlights denotes active players.

Position	Name	Period	Goals	Caps	Goals/Caps Ratio
1	Juan Arango	1999–2015	23	129	0.18
2	Giancarlo Maldonado	2003–2011	22	65	0.33
3	Salomón Rondón	2008–	19	61	0.31
4	Ruberth Morán	1996–2007	16	62	0.22
5	José Manuel Rey	1997–2011	11	111	0.10
6	Nicolás Fedor	2006–	11	51	0.21
7	Daniel Arismendi	2006–2011	10	30	0.30
8	Gabriel Urdaneta	1996–2005	9	76	0.12
	Josef Martínez	2011–	9	38	0.24
10	Oswaldo Vizcarrondo	2004–	8	82	0.10
As of 28 March 2016[5]

Competitive record

World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1930 to 1954	Did not enter
1958	Withdrew
1962	Did not enter
1966 to 1970	Did not qualify
1974	Withdrew
1978 to 2018	Did not qualify

Head to head

Copa América record

Pan American Games record

References

External links

• (in Spanish) Federacion Venezolana De Fútbol The official Venezuelan soccer federation website.
• (in Spanish) La Vinotinto – The latest news about Venezuelan professional soccer and more.
• (in Spanish) ForoVinotinto The Unofficial Forum.
• (in Spanish) Futbol es todo The latest news about Venezuelan professional soccer and more.