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For current information on this topic, see Venezuela fixtures and results.

Venezuela

Nickname(s)	La Vinotinto (The Burgundy)
Association	Federación Venezolana de Fútbol
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	César Farías (2007-)
Captain	Juan Arango
Most caps	José Manuel Rey (103)
Top scorer	Giancarlo Maldonado (15)
Home stadium	Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Estadio Olímpico Luis Ramos
FIFA code	VEN
FIFA ranking	66
Highest FIFA ranking	48 (April 2004)
Lowest FIFA ranking	129 (November 1998)
Elo ranking	45
Highest Elo ranking	38 (April 2004)
Lowest Elo ranking	127 (1993, 1995, 1999)
Home colours Away colours
First international
Panama 3 - 1 Venezuela (Panama City, Panama; 12 February 1938)
Biggest win
Venezuela 6 - 0 Puerto Rico (Barranquilla, Colombia; 26 December 1946)
Biggest defeat
Argentina 11 - 0 Venezuela (Buenos Aires, Argentina; 10 August 1975)
Copa América
Appearances	14 (First in 1967)
Best result	Fifth place, 1967

The Venezuela national football team is the national football team of Venezuela and is controlled by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol. It is nicknamed 'La Vinotinto' (The Burgundy), because of the traditional burgundy color of their shirts.

Venezuela is the only national team in CONMEBOL which has never qualified for a 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. Their best finish in Copa América was fifth in their first entry, in 1967.

When playing at home in official games they usually rotate between two stadiums: the Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo, in San Cristóbal; the Estadio José Encarnación "Pachencho" Romero, in Maracaibo. In friendly matches they tend to rotate between the rest of the stadiums in the country.

National companies such as Empresas Polar and Telephone suppliers CANTV and Movistar have been giving a lot of financial aid to the team and to the sport itself. The government is not very keen on financing these kind of activities. Nevertheless, Venezuela hosted the Copa América 2007, thus becoming the last country in South America to host this competition.

The Unofficial Football World Championship, and the related Nasazzi's baton title, was briefly held by Venezuela in 2006.

Unlike other South American nations, baseball is extremely popular in Venezuela, which may divert athletic talent away from football, contributing to its historic lack of success in CONMEBOL competitions.

[edit] History

[edit] World Cup

Venezuela did not participate in World Cup qualifying 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.

The 2002 and 2006 qualifiers have seen a tremendous improvement in Venezuela's fortunes, and they are now regarded as a competitive team. They started the 2010 qualifying round by historically beating Ecuador in Quito where the Ecuadorians had previously held a long unbeaten record.

Despite poor results during the 60s and 70s, outstanding players like Luis Mendoza and Rafael Santana achieved renown.

[edit] Copa America

Venezuela first participated in the Copas America in 1967, and finished 5th 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 4 goals. In the 1993 series, Venezuela drew with Uruguay and the United States.

The team's overall Copa América record has been pretty poor, but the "Auge Vinotinto" (Vinotinto Rise) period in the early 2000s 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 Perú during the competition was its first Copa América victory since 1967.

In June 6, 2008, Venezuela achieved its first-ever triumph over Brazil, winning the Seleção with a 2-0 score in a friendly match in Boston, USA.

[edit] Current team status

Venezuela is currently participating in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

[edit] 2010 FIFA World Cup
Qualification Standings

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Paraguay 10 7 2 1 18 6 +12 23  Brazil 10 4 5 1 15 4 +11 17  Argentina 10 4 4 2 13 7 +6 16  Chile 10 5 1 4 14 13 +1 16  Uruguay 10 3 4 3 19 10 +9 13  Ecuador 10 3 3 4 12 17 −5 12  Colombia 10 2 5 3 4 8 −4 11  Venezuela 10 3 1 6 12 18 −6 10  Bolivia 10 2 3 5 13 22 −9 9  Peru 10 1 4 5 5 20 −15 7   Argentina  – 3–0 R15 2–0 R13 1–1 1–1 R17 2–1 R11 Bolivia  R12 – R17 0–2 0–0 R16 4–2 3–0 2–2 R13 Brazil  0–0 0–0 – R16 0–0 5–0 R14 R12 2–1 R18 Chile  1–0 R14 0–3 – 4–0 R18 0–3 2–0 R12 R15 Colombia  2–1 R11 0–0 R17 – R15 0–1 R14 0–1 1–0 Ecuador  R14 3–1 R11 1–0 0–0 – R12 5–1 R17 0–1 Paraguay  R16 R15 2–0 R13 R18 5–1 – 1–0 1–0 2–0 Peru  1–1 R18 1–1 R11 1–1 R13 0–0 – R15 1–0 Uruguay  R18 5–0 R13 2–2 R16 0–0 R11 6–0 – 1–1 Venezuela  0–2 5–3 0–4 2–3 R12 3–1 R17 R16 R14 –

[edit] Last and next games

• Last game:  Venezuela 0 - 0 Angola  - Barinas, Venezuela - November 19, 2008 - F.
• Next game: TBA

KEY: F = Friendly match; WCQ2010 = 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

[edit] Current Team

Below is the squad that played for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification against Paraguay on September 9, 2008.

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Renny Vega July 4, 1979 32 0 Denizlispor 12 GK Rafael Dudamel January 7, 1973 53 1 América de Cali 2 DF Gerson Chacón October 21, 1980 Deportivo Tachira 3 DF José Manuel Rey May 20, 1975 100 8 Caracas FC 4 DF Jonay Hernández February 15, 1979 Pontevedra CF 6 DF Pedro Boada July 26, 1977 Deportivo Anzoátegui 16 DF Juan Fuenmayor September 5, 1979 Zulia FC 5 MF Miguel Mea Vitali February 19, 1981 81 1 FC Vaduz 8 MF Tomás Rincón January 13, 1988 11 0 Deportivo Táchira 10 MF Ronald Vargas December 2, 1986 8 2 Club Brugge 11 MF César Eduardo González October 1, 1980 18 1 Huracán MF Luis Manuel Seijas June 23, 1986 4 0 Independiente Santa Fe 13 MF Leonel Vielma August 30, 1978 56 4 Santa Fe 14 MF Alejandro Guerra June 9, 1985 26 3 Caracas FC 17 MF Jorge Alberto Rojas October 1, 1977 85 2 Red Bull New York 7 FW José Torrealba June 13, 1980 14 3 Kaizer Chiefs 9 FW Giancarlo Maldonado June 29, 1982 39 15 Atlante 15 FW Alejandro Moreno July 8, 1979 8 1 Columbus Crew 18 FW Juan Arango May 16, 1980 72 14 RCD Mallorca

[edit] Recent Call Ups

The following players have also been called up to the Venezuela squad.

Goalkeepers

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Javier Toyo	October 12, 1977	Caracas FC	8 (0)	v. Colombia, 30 April 2008
Giancarlos Martinez	May 21, 1979	Mineros de Guayana	1 (0)	v. El Salvador, 23 March 2008

Defenders

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Jose Luis Granados	October 22, 1986	Deportivo Tachira	4 (0)	v. Clolombia, 30 April 2008
Oswaldo Vizcarrondo	May 31, 1984	Caracas FC	12 (0)	v. Colombia, 30 April 2008
José Gonzalez	July 21, 1971	Deportivo Tachira	? (?)	v. El Salvador, 23 March 2008
Leonardo González	July 14, 1972	Trujillanos FC	? (?)	v. El Salvador, 23 March 2008
Grenddy Perozo	February 28, 1986	Deportivo Anzoátegui	? (?)	v. Bolivia, 26 March 2008
Enrique Andrés Rouga	March 2, 1982	Alki Larnaca	20 (0)	v. Haiti, 6 February 2008
Dickson Díaz	March 4, 1980	Unión Atlético Maracaibo	? (?)	v. Haiti, 3 February 2008
Edder Pérez	July 3, 1983	Caracas FC	24 (4)	v. Bolivia, 20 November 2007
Alejandro Cichero	April 20, 1977	Shandong Luneng	47 (2)	v. Bolivia, 20 November 2007
Luis José Vallenilla	March 13, 1974	Atlético Mineros de Guayana	77 (1)	v. Colombia, 17 November 2007

Midfielders

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Carlos Fernandez	September 1, 1990	Deportivo Anzoátegui	2 (0)	v. Bolivia, 26 March 2008
Giácomo Di Giorgi	February 24, 1981	Llaneros FC	? (?)	v. El Salvador, 23 March 2008
Louis Pena	December 25, 1989	Estudiantes de Mérida	1 (0)	v. El Salvador, 23 March 2008
Luis Vargas	June 25, 1987	Trujillanos FC	1 (0)	v. El Salvador, 23 March 2008
Edgar Pérez Greco	February 16, 1982	Deportivo Tachira	? (?)	v. El Salvador, 23 March 2008
Edgar Jiménez	October 19, 1984	Caracas FC	? (?)	v. Haiti, 3 February 2008
Ricardo David Paez	February 9, 1979	Alianza Lima	64 (7)	v. Bolivia, 20 November 2007
Alejandro Guerra	July 9, 1985	Caracas FC	23 (3)	v. Bolivia, 20 November 2007
Luis Vera	March 9, 1973	Caracas FC	53 (2)	v. Bolivia, 20 November 2007
Héctor Gonzalez	November 4, 1977	AEK Larnaca	53 (4)	v. Ecuador, 13 October 2007
César Eduardo González	October 1, 1982	Huracán	18 (1)	v. Panama, 12 September 2007

Strikers

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
José Torrealba	June 13, 1980	Kaizer Chiefs	13 (3)	v. Colombia, 30 April 2008
Cristian Cásseres	June 29, 1977	Deportivo Italia	? (?)	v. Bolivia, 26 March 2008
Ángel Chourio	May 4, 1985	Unión Atlético Maracaibo	1 (0)	v. El Salvador, 23 March 2008
José Salomón Rondón	April 28, 1989	UD Las Palmas	3 (1)	v. El Salvador, 23 March 2008
Juan Falcon	February 24, 1989	Llaneros FC	1 (0)	v. El Salvador, 23 March 2008
Armando Maita	August 26, 1981	Monagas Sport Club	? (?)	v. Haiti, 6 February 2008
Emilio Rentería	October 9, 1984	Caracas FC	16 (9)	v. Haiti, 3 February 2008
Heiber Diaz	November 10, 1984	Unión Atlético Maracaibo	? (?)	v. Paraguay, 8 September 2007