Venezuela national football team

Venezuela
Nickname(s)	[La Vinotinto (The Burgundy); Los Llaneros] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (The Plainsmen)
Association	[[[Venezuelan Football Federation\|Federación Venezolana de Fútbol]]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (FVF)
Confederation	CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach	Noel Sanvicente
Captain	Juan Arango
Most caps	Juan Arango (127)
Top scorer	Juan Arango & Giancarlo Maldonado (22)
Home stadium	Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui ; Polideportivo Cachamay ; Estadio Pueblo Nuevo
FIFA code	VEN
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	45 27 (9 July 2015)
Highest	29 (August 2014)
Lowest	129 (November 1998)
First international
	Panama 2–1 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	15 (first in 1967)
Best result	Fourth place, 2011

The Venezuela national football team is controlled by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol. 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 Estadio Pueblo Nuevo, in San Cristóbal. In friendly matches they tend to rotate between the rest of the stadiums in the country.

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

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 not 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 (Japan, the United States, Australia, etc.) that the national team found incentives to increase player development and fan support.

History

Backstory

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.

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 improved their performances. At the beginning of 2010, during qualifying, the national team won its first game in World Cup qualifying against Ecuador in Quito, where the Ecuadorians had previously held a long unbeaten record. 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 qualifying for 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 June 6, 2008, Venezuela achieved their first-ever triumph over Brazil, defeating the Seleção 2–0 in a friendly match in Boston, USA.

The team obtained excellent results in the 2011 Copa América when they finished 4th, their highest finish in the tournament so far. With a team composed mostly of players who play in European leagues, 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 Venezuelan national football 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]

Copa America history

Venezuela first participated in the Copa América 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 (goal difference 33–145 before 2011 Copa), 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 Perú during the competition was its first Copa América victory since 1967.

2011 Copa América

At the 2011 Copa América championship, Venezuela reached the semifinals round for the first time by defeating Chile in the quarterfinal, 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 3rd Place of Copa America 2011 at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata. Venezuela would suffer their biggest loss of the tournament, losing 4–1 to Peru and falling into 4th place overall, but 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:

July 3, 2011 Group stages	Brazil	0–0	Venezuela	La Plata, Argentina
16:00 UTC-3		Report		Stadium: Estadio Ciudad de La Plata Referee: Raúl Orosco (Bolivia)

July 9, 2011 Group stages	Venezuela	1–0	Ecuador	Salta, Argentina
18:30 UTC-3	C. González 61'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena Referee: Wálter Quesada (Costa Rica)

July 13, 2011 Group stages	Paraguay	3–3	Venezuela	Salta, Argentina
19:15 UTC-3	Alcaraz 32' Barrios 62' Riveros 85'	Report	Rondón 5' Miku 89' Perozo 90+2'	Stadium: Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena Referee: Enrique Osses (Chile)

July 17, 2011 Quarterfinals	Chile	1–2	Venezuela	San Juan, Argentina
19:15 UTC-3	Suazo 69'	Report	Vizcarrondo 34' Cichero 80'	Stadium: Estadio del Bicentenario Referee: Carlos Vera (Ecuador)

July 20, 2011 Semifinals	Venezuela	0–0 (3–5 p)	Paraguay	Mendoza, Argentina
21:45 UTC-3		Report		Stadium: Estadio Malvinas Argentinas Referee: Francisco Chacón (Mexico)
	Penalties
	Maldonado Rey Lucena Miku		Ortigoza Barrios Riveros Martínez Verón

July 23, 2011 Third-place match	Peru	4–1	Venezuela	La Plata, Argentina
16:00 UTC-3	Chiroque 41' Guerrero 63', 89', 90+2'	Report	Arango 77'	Stadium: Estadio Ciudad de La Plata Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

Historical kits

(1926)

(1967)

(1970)

(1977)

(1979)

(1981)

(1982)

(1986)

(1989)

(1990)

(1993)

(1994)

(1995)

(1996)

(1997)

(1998)

(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.

September 5, 2014 Friendly	South Korea	3–1	Venezuela	Bucheon, South Korea
12:00 UTC+9	Myung-joo 33' Dong-gook 53', 64'	Report	M. Rondón 21'	Stadium: Bucheon Sports Complex Attendance: 34,456 Referee: Võ Minh Trí (Vietnam)

September 9, 2014 Kirin Challenge Cup 2014	Japan	3–0 (forfeit)	Venezuela	Yokohama, Japan
19:20		Report		Stadium: International Stadium Yokohama Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

November 14, 2014 Friendly	Chile	5–0	Venezuela	Talcahuano, Chile
20:00 UTC−3	A. Sánchez 17' Valdivia 45+1' Vargas 55' Millar 78' Hernández 90+3'	Report		Stadium: CAP Attendance: 10,200 Referee: Antonio Arias (Paraguay)

November 18, 2014 Friendly	Bolivia	3–2	Venezuela	La Paz, Bolivia
19:00 UTC-4	Raldes 41' Lizio 53' Arce 87'	Report	Ángel 39' González 71'	Stadium: Estadio Hernando Siles Referee: Eduardo Gamboa (Chile)

February 4, 2015 Friendly	Honduras	2–3	Venezuela	San Pedro Sula, Honduras
	Lozano 80' Montes 90'	Report	Blanco 21' Figuera 51' Farías 76'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano Referee: Joel Aguilar Chicas (El Salvador)

February 11, 2015 Friendly	Venezuela	2–1	Honduras	Barinas, Venezuela
	Lucena 17' Murillo 57'	Report	Lozano 13'	Stadium: Estadio Agustín Tovar Referee: Diego Haro (Peru)

March 27, 2015 Friendly	Jamaica	2–1	Venezuela	Montego Bay, Jamaica
	Barnes 15' Mattocks 58'	Report	Cichero 13'	Stadium: Catherine Hall Sports Complex Referee: Kimbell Ward (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

March 31, 2015 Friendly	Peru	0–1	Venezuela	Fort Lauderdale, United States
		Report	Martínez 60'	Stadium: Lockhart Stadium Referee: Armando Castro (Honduras)

June 14, 2015 2015 Copa América	Colombia	0–1	Venezuela	Rancagua, Chile
16:00 (UTC−03:00)		Report	Rondón 60'	Stadium: Estadio El Teniente Attendance: 12,387 Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)

June 18, 2015 2015 Copa América	Peru	1–0	Venezuela	Valparaíso, Chile
20:30 (UTC-3)	Pizarro 72'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Elías Figueroa Attendance: 15,542 Referee: Raúl Orosco (Bolivia)

June 21, 2015 2015 Copa América	Brazil	2–1	Venezuela	Santiago, Chile
	Thiago Silva 9' Firmino 52'	Report	Miku 85'	Stadium: Estadio Monumental David Arellano Referee: Enrique Cáceres (Paraguay)

Win Draw Loss

2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification Standings

Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONMEBOL

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were named for the 2015 Copa América
Caps and goals are correct as of June 21, 2015, after the game against Brazil.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Alain Baroja	(1989-10-23) October 23, 1989 (age 35)	6	0	AEK Athens
12	1GK	Dani Hernández	(1985-10-21) October 21, 1985 (age 39)	20	0	Tenerife
23	1GK	Wuilker Faríñez	(1998-02-15) February 15, 1998 (age 26)	0	0	Caracas

2	2DF	Wilker Ángel	(1993-03-18) March 18, 1993 (age 31)	1	1	Deportivo Táchira
3	2DF	Andrés Túñez	(1987-03-15) March 15, 1987 (age 37)	14	0	Buriram United
4	2DF	Oswaldo Vizcarrondo	(1984-05-31) May 31, 1984 (age 40)	64	8	Nantes
5	2DF	Fernando Amorebieta	(1985-03-29) March 29, 1985 (age 39)	14	1	Fulham
6	2DF	Gabriel Cichero	(1984-04-25) April 25, 1984 (age 40)	59	4	Sion
16	2DF	Roberto Rosales	(1988-11-20) November 20, 1988 (age 36)	57	0	Málaga
20	2DF	Grenddy Perozo	(1986-02-28) February 28, 1986 (age 38)	45	2	Ajaccio

8	3MF	Tomás Rincón	(1988-01-13) January 13, 1988 (age 36)	61	0	Genoa
10	3MF	Ronald Vargas	(1986-12-02) December 2, 1986 (age 38)	20	3	AEK Athens
11	3MF	César González	(1982-10-01) October 1, 1982 (age 42)	59	5	Deportivo Táchira
13	3MF	Luis Manuel Seijas	(1986-06-23) June 23, 1986 (age 38)	56	2	Santa Fe
14	3MF	Franklin Lucena	(1981-02-20) February 20, 1981 (age 43)	59	2	Once Caldas
15	3MF	Alejandro Guerra	(1985-07-09) July 9, 1985 (age 39)	45	4	Atlético Nacional
18	3MF	Juan Arango (Captain)	(1980-05-17) May 17, 1980 (age 44)	127	22	Tijuana
19	3MF	Rafael Acosta	(1989-02-13) February 13, 1989 (age 35)	9	0	Mineros de Guayana
22	3MF	Jhon Murillo	(1995-06-04) June 4, 1995 (age 29)	1	0	Tondela

7	4FW	Nicolás Fedor	(1985-08-19) August 19, 1985 (age 39)	52	11	Rayo Vallecano
9	4FW	Salomón Rondón	(1989-09-16) September 16, 1989 (age 35)	41	13	Zenit Saint Petersburg
17	4FW	Josef Martínez	(1993-05-19) May 19, 1993 (age 31)	19	3	Torino
21	4FW	Gelmin Rivas	(1989-03-23) March 23, 1989 (age 35)	3	0	Al-Ittihad

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	Rafael Romo	(1990-02-25) February 25, 1990 (age 34)	8	0	Udinese	v. Honduras, February 11, 2015
GK	Renny Vega	(1979-07-04) July 4, 1979 (age 45)	62	0	Deportivo La Guaira	v. Japan, September 9, 2014

DF	Alexander González	(1992-09-13) September 13, 1992 (age 32)	28	1	Young Boys	2015 Copa América preliminary squad, May 2015
DF	Juan Fuenmayor	(1979-09-05) September 5, 1979 (age 45)	27	0	Deportivo Anzoátegui	2015 Copa América preliminary squad, May 2015
DF	Francisco Carabalí	(1991-02-24) February 24, 1991 (age 33)	4	0	Caracas	v. Honduras, February 11, 2015
DF	Andrés Sanchez	(1987-12-12) December 12, 1987 (age 37)	4	0	Caracas	v. Honduras, February 11, 2015
DF	Víctor García	(1994-06-11) June 11, 1994 (age 30)	1	0	Porto B	Madrid Training Camp, October 2014
DF	Rubert Quijada	(1989-02-10) February 10, 1989 (age 35)	2	0	Caracas	v. Japan, September 9, 2014

MF	Yohandry Orozco	(1991-03-19) March 19, 1991 (age 33)	25	1	Al-Ittihad	2015 Copa América preliminary squad, May 2015
MF	Christian Santos	(1988-03-24) March 24, 1988 (age 36)	1	0	NEC	2015 Copa América preliminary squad, May 2015
MF	Juanpi	(1994-01-24) January 24, 1994 (age 30)	1	0	Málaga	v. Peru, March 31, 2015
MF	Rómulo Otero	(1992-11-09) November 9, 1992 (age 32)	8	2	Huachipato	v. Jamaica, March 27, 2015
MF	Luis Vargas	(1987-06-25) June 25, 1987 (age 37)	4	0	Zamora	v. Honduras, February 11, 2015
MF	Frank Feltscher	(1988-05-17) May 17, 1988 (age 36)	14	2	AEL Limassol	v. Bolivia, November 18, 2014
MF	Édgar Jiménez	(1984-10-19) October 19, 1984 (age 40)	9	0	Mineros de Guayana	v. Bolivia, November 18, 2014
MF	Franco Signorelli	(1991-01-01) January 1, 1991 (age 34)	2	0	Empoli	v. Bolivia, November 18, 2014
MF	Pedro Ramírez	(1992-08-24) August 24, 1992 (age 32)	1	0	Sion	v. Japan, September 9, 2014

FW	Fernando Aristeguieta	(1992-04-09) April 9, 1992 (age 32)	15	1	Philadelphia Union	2015 Copa América preliminary squad, May 2015
FW	Mario Rondón	(1986-03-26) March 26, 1986 (age 38)	10	2	Shijiazhuang Ever Bright	2015 Copa América preliminary squad, May 2015
FW	Edder Farías	(1988-04-12) April 12, 1988 (age 36)	8	2	Caracas	2015 Copa América preliminary squad, May 2015
FW	Juan Falcón	(1989-02-24) February 24, 1989 (age 35)	3	0	Metz	v. Jamaica, March 27, 2015
FW	Darwin Machís	(1993-02-07) February 7, 1993 (age 31)	2	0	Granada	Madrid Training Camp, October 2014
FW	Jeffrén Suárez	(1988-01-20) January 20, 1988 (age 36)	0	0	Real Valladolid	Madrid Training Camp, October 2014

Notes:

Injured or recovering from surgery

Records

Most caps

Midfielder Juan Arango has played the most matches for Venezuela: 127 between 1999 and 2015.

Blue highlights denotes active players.

Position	Name	Period	caps	Goals
1	Juan Arango	1999–	127	22
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	Gabriel Urdaneta	1996–2005	77	9
5	Luis Vallenilla	1996–2007	77	1
7	Ruberth Morán	1996–2007	65	14
7	Giancarlo Maldonado	2003–2011	65	22
9	Leopoldo Jiménez	1999–2005	64	0
	Ricardo Páez	2000–2007	64	7
	Oswaldo Vizcarrondo	2006–	64	8
As of June 21, 2015^[3]

Top scorers

Blue highlights denotes active players.

Position	Name	Period	Goals	Caps	Goals/Caps Ratio
1	Juan Arango	1999–	22	127	0.17
1	Giancarlo Maldonado	2003–2011	22	65	0.33
3	Ruberth Morán	1996–2007	14	65	0.22
4	José Salomón Rondón	2008–	13	41	0.32
5	Daniel Arismendi	2006–2011	11	31	0.35
	José Manuel Rey	1997–2011	11	115	0.10
	Nicolás Fedor	2006–	11	52	0.21
8	Gabriel Urdaneta	1996–2005	9	77	0.12
9	Oswaldo Vizcarrondo	2004–	8	64	0.13
10	Juan García Rivas	1993–2009	7	49	0.14
10	Ricardo Páez	2000–2007	7	64	0.11
As of June 21, 2015^[4]

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 2014	Did 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)

Pan American Games record

1951 – Fourth place
1955 – Fourth place
1959 to 1979 – Did not compete

1983 – Round 1
1987 to 2003 – Did not compete

References

^ http://www.fifa.com/world-match-centre/news/newsid/240/651/2/index.html
^ http://www.goal.com/en/match/korea-republic-vs-venezuela/1802751/report
^ Luis Fernando Passo Alpuin. "Appearances for Venezuela National Team". RSSSF. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
^ Luis Fernando Passo Alpuin. "Goals for Venezuela National Team". RSSSF. Retrieved July 24, 2013.

External links

Template:Es icon Federacion Venezolana De Fútbol The official Venezuelan soccer federation website.
Template:Es icon La Vinotinto – The latest news about Venezuelan professional soccer and more.
Template:Es icon ForoVinotinto The Unofficial Forum.
Template:Es icon Futbol es todo The latest news about Venezuelan professional soccer and more.

[1] ttp://www.fifa.com/world-match-centre/news/newsid/240/651/2/index.html

[2] ttp://www.goal.com/en/match/korea-republic-vs-venezuela/1802751/report

[3] Luis Fernando Passo Alpuin. "Appearances for Venezuela National Team". RSSSF. Retrieved July 24, 2013.

[4] Luis Fernando Passo Alpuin. "Goals for Venezuela National Team". RSSSF. Retrieved July 24, 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e International association football
FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Rankings The Best FIFA Football Awards Timeline Most successful clubs
World (FIFA)	FIFA World Cup U-20 U-17 FIFA Confederations Cup FIFA Gold Cup Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games
Asia (AFC)	AFC Asian Cup U-23 U-20 U-17 AFC Challenge Cup AFC Solidarity Cup Asian Games Regional ASEAN CAFA EAFF SAFF WAFF Arabian Gulf Cup East Asian Games Far Eastern Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games West Asian Games
Africa (CAF)	CAF Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 CAF African Nations Championship African Games Regional CECAFA COSAFA UNIFFAC WAFU Central African Games Indian Ocean Island Games
North America (CONCACAF)	CONCACAF Gold Cup U-23 U-20 U-17 U-15 CONCACAF Championship CONCACAF Nations League CONCACAF Cup NAFC Championship CCCF Championship Central America and Caribbean Games Regional North American Nations Cup Copa Centroamericana CFU Championship Caribbean Cup LIFA Cup WIFA Cup Central America Games
South America (CONMEBOL)	CONMEBOL Copa América U-23 U-20 U-17 U-15 South American Games Regional Bolivarian Games
Oceania (OFC)	OFC Nations Cup U-23 U-19 U-17 Regional Melanesia Cup Polynesia Cup Pacific Games Pacific Mini Games
Europe (UEFA)	UEFA European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 UEFA Nations League Regional Central European Cup Balkan Cup Baltic Cup British Home Championship Nordic Championship
Inter-Continental	CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions CPF Panamerican Championship CAF-AFC Afro-Asian Cup of Nations AFC–OFC Challenge Cup FIFA Arab Cup Palestine Cup Kuneitra Cup Overseas Cup Afro-Asian Games Arab Games Francophone Games GANEFO Goodwill Games Islamic Games Islamic Solidarity Games Lusofonia Games Mediterranean Cup Mediterranean Games Pan American Games
Non-FIFA	CONIFA World Football Cup CONIFA European Football Cup CONIFA South America Football Cup CONIFA Africa Football Cup FIFI Wild Cup UIAFA Great European Tournament Island Games Micronesian Games Universiade World Unity Football Alliance
See also Geography Codes Player/Club of the Century Women's football