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Venezuela Team Guide

As host nation the pressure will be on Venezuela to at least qualify for the knock out stage of the Copa America 2007. Whether the host nation can live up to the pressure remains to be seen but the truth of the matter is that regardless of the outcome of the tournament in many respects Venezuela will be winners as the decision to host the competition in the country has vastly improved the infrastructure and not only that, that surrounds football.

For many years Venezuela was seen as something of an odd-bird, the only of the South American countries not to be gripped by a football fervour, preferring instead to play baseball. Affiliated to the South American football region finally in 1955 they didn’t attempt to qualify for a World Cup until 1966 and they are the only country from the region yet to realise that ambition. However, that dream may not be far off in the making as in recent years the football team has made great strides forward under current coach Richard Paez who took over in 2001.

Paez himself was a member of the team in the 70’s and on the end of some hefty defeats including one 11-0 mauling at the hands of Argentina. These days instead of double figure hammering they are actually dishing out some pain to their South American rivals; they won 5 of their 18 qualifying matches in the last qualifying tournament and achieved another milestone recently by beating Austria � the first time they have ever overcome European opposition albeit in a friendly.

The domestic league has been improving and the top teams such as FC Caracas and UA Maracaibo have been taking strides forward themselves. Their improvement has been down to receiving Copa Libertadores places directly rather than having to take part in one-sided qualification games against invited Mexican teams. At one stage the odds in these games were hopelessly stacked against the Venezuelan teams but these days beating one of the Mexican teams wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility. Indeed FC Caracas held Santos of Brazil to a 2-2 draw in the first leg in the round of 16 in this season’s tournament at home before only going down 2-1 at the Vila Belmiro.

So what brought about the change in Venezuelan football? The manager Paez maintains that the key behind Venezuela’s success has been about changing the player’s mindsets, sending them out onto the pitch with confidence rather than worrying about how many they may concede on this occasion.

Several of the players have since gone onto leave the Venezuelan league and now ply their trade either in Mexico or elsewhere. In fact the Venezuelan squad has been drawn from the most far flung teams including ones based in Bulgaria, South Africa and Morocco.

Venezuela, as hosts, have been granted seeding in one of the groups, which automatically means they avoid both Brazil and Argentina. In addition to that they have also been allocated arguably the weakest team in the tournament; Bolivia. With Uruguay in a process of rebuilding by their coach’s own admission and Peru a team who have strength in the forward positions but don’t look solid defensively Venezuela could be in a position to qualify for the knock out stage for the first time.

The squad that has been named by Paez isn’t one that is well known to European observers. In fact the only player to receive any sort of attention to Juan Arango, arguably Venezuela’s most prominent player. Arango plays his football for Real Mallorca for whom he has been playing since 2004. He finished top scorer for the Islanders in 05/06 with 16 goals, an impressive haul that has prompted Valencia to take a look at the player. He is player blessed with great movement and pace and may be expected to play just behind the strikers.

Another key player will be Jose Manuel Rey who will be anchoring the back line playing in the heart of the back four. Rey is another of the squad who has moved into European football and currently is with Cypriot team AEK Larnaca along with another defensive colleague Hector Gonzalez. Quite apart from Rey’s defensive ability he has also been known to thunder in the odd long distance pile driver.

The other notable player in the team will be Ricardo Paez who is the son of the coach. He will be assigned a holding midfield role which he will occupy with Luis Vera of Caracas the oldest player in the squad at 33 years old.

The weight of expectation will be large on the shoulders of the team but Paez has selected a team based on the successful team formed at FC Caracas that has a good blend of experience and youth. The players who have come in from Europe can only enhance the mix that Paez has at his disposal. If the team can successfully harness the new found sense of optimism surrounding not only the team but the entire country then qualification for the knock out stage is a real possibility. Should they be able to achieve that then realistically anything could be possible with the fervent backing of their supporters. However, the team will have to hit the ground running and are fortunate to be playing Bolivia first, against whom they should be able to record a win. If they fail to take all three points the burden of expectation may become too heavy on the team and they may fail to achieve what they are capable of.

Key man: Undoubtedly Juan Arango will be expected to score the goals. He has enjoyed a reasonable season with Mallorca achieving a solid mid-table position and finishing on the verge of the Intertoto positions. If he can hit the goal trail and fire in a few goals then qualification should be a feasible target.

Posted by Walter Townsend on Monday, 25th June 2007

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