interesting theory on the roots of the vinotinto's success.
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Venezuela’s Vinotinto: The New Vintage?
By KEYVAN ANTONIO HEYDARICopa América in Argentina is over, Uruguay has taken home the trophy for the 15th time, and the rest of South America assesses whether the balance of soccer power has been altered. If so, the net winner is Venezuela, which was eliminated in the semifinals, on penalty kicks against Paraguay, without having lost a match.
“We deserved to be in the final, but there is nothing compared with being able to bring together 30 million people,” said Gabriel Cíchero (who played briefly for the Red Bulls of M.L.S. in 2008) upon arrival in Venezuela. Against Paraguay, Venezuela was inches away from the final. It beat Ecuador and Chile, and tied Brazil and Paraguay. Venezuela hit the woodwork twice in overtime and was one missed penalty kick from playing Uruguay in the final.
Coach César Farías was adamant, even after elimination by Paraguay and losing the third-place match to Peru, on demanding respect for South America’s historic whipping boy. The history of the national team of Venezuela, know as the Vinotinto, (because of their red, wine-colored jerseys) is thin, but brewing.
Economic policy was a cornerstone in this process. In the 1950s, as Chico Carrasquel became the first of many Venezuelan shortstops in the major leagues, the president Marcos Pérez Jiménez promoted highway and large infrastructure projects in Venezuela financed by the nation’s oil revenues. He encouraged immigration from Europe, and two generations after many laborers and professionals arrived in Venezuela from Italy, Portugal, Spain and the rest of South America to work, a soccer boom is paying dividends for the national team.Venezuela’s best players tend to migrate to Argentina or Mexico. Some like standout defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (Deportivo Anzoátegui), play in Venezuelan clubs. Two cities near the Colombian border, San Cristóbal and Mérida, are hotbeds of soccer. Venezuela’s best player, Juan Arango, of Germany’s Borussia Mönchengladbach, has Colombian parents. Another standout born in Venezuela, Jeffrén Suárez,,is a substitute for Barcelona who has decided to play for Spain’s youth national teams.
Venezuela played its first World Cup qualifiers for England 1966 and lost all four matches. Then in 1967, Venezuela participated in its first Copa América. It beat Bolivia in its debut and then finished last in the next five editions of the tournament. This week, Venezuela jumped 29 spots in the latest FIFA world rankings, from No. 69 to No. 40, after its performance in the Copa.
Decades of frustration lifted in the qualifying campaign for Germany 2002, when the Vinotinto strung together victories over Uruguay, Chile, Peru and Paraguay and finished out of the South American basement for the first time. For Germany 2006, the Venezuelans improved one spot to the eighth place in qualifying, and repeated the same result as the 2010 qualifiers.
A great shift came in 2007, as the administration of President Hugo Chávez made that Copa held in Venezuela a showcase event. In 2009, Venezuela finally participated in its first World Cup, the U-20 World Cup in Egypt.
Venezuela, however, was swept up in the Copa América 2011. The streets of Caracas also were mirrors of the people’s interest with public spaces like Plazas Alfredo Sabel, Venezuela, Sucre and Miranda were full of fans watching the match.
Hugo Chávez, wrote from Cuba on his Twitter account during the semis, “Epa! Here, watching the great game. Nicolás is here, and it looks like Fidel is on his way to watch the game with us. We will survive and triumph!” After the loss on penalties, Chávez added, “Great Venezuela! Viva the fatherland.”
With Uruguay crowned as champions of the 2011 edition, Venezuelans beamed with pride and bristled with disappointment.
“We felt we should have done more. We should have been in the final. The world knows that now in South America, there is another team to reckon with,” Farías said. “A team with quality, that is not afraid of anyone and will fight. Maybe we’ll have the satisfaction of reaching Brazil 2014.”
Giancarlo Maldonado, the former Chivas USA forward whose father Carlos was born in Uruguay but also played for Venezuela, told ESPN Deportes: “I think the desire, sacrifice and togetherness we have in this group the last two years is marvelous. We have sacrificed family, friends and many shortened their vacations. Each time we get closer, and we hope it will be the perfect opportunity to be in a World Cup.”
The World Cup qualifiers start in October. Since Brazil gets an automatic bid, there will be five other South American countries attempting to qualify. Could it be a celebration in 2014 with wine, Vinotinto perhaps? In August, Venezuela will play friendlies in Washington (El Salvador) and Miami (Honduras) as preparation for the qualifiers.
Keyvan Antonio Heydari writes about international soccer. You can follow him on Twitter at keyvan9