There a lot of angles involved in why I brought this up.
Regardless of our inconsistent results, we are somewhat regarded as a football nation. Despite the fact that our approach for international match days has been uneven, every Central American and Mexican I have spoken with treats us as 'legitimate'.
Perception wise the Venezuelans were not getting that kind of reaction within CONMEBOL. Generally, our football profile seemed higher than theirs and the FIFA rankings [whatever we think of them] traditionally bore that out. Granted, these days the ELO rankings show them as stronger. However, this is testament to their progress.
I'm looking at this from the view of how the game has developed comprehensively in their context versus ours.
Now Venezuela has players scattered all over the globe [Germany, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria, Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, Cyprus, USA, Italy and Spain]. They've come a long way in a very short time.
We knocked on the door in '74. Again in '90 and finally made it to Germany in '06. Back then Venezuela was an absolute non-entity and occasional non-participant. Yet today we're both in a situation in which we're starting to place players abroad with consistency and we're both at a crucial stage in our development.
My contention is that Venezuela has the platform to get where we would like to be faster than we possibly may get there [and that national philosophy thread has a lot to do with what we do and how] - 2006 WC qualification aside - anybody here comfortable with a one-off?
I think the comparison between them and what we have is reasonable. It's not a precise fit and it's not going to be decided on purely quantitative data or even qualitative info. I am commenting based on my read of the deal. I figure there will be several perspectives. If we expect to be a WC/global standard-bearer then we better assess our situation vis-a-vis the likes of (at least) the second tier South American countries.
The other day ah was checking out South Florida's roster and ah buck up a Venezuelan yute listed as having been part of Atletico Madrid's youth team. Without knowing more, that's fairly impressive.
We eh go find too many of their players in an English-speaking environment and that factor alone will be plenty in their favor.
****
Ah doh quite understand what yuh getting at, because we never even beat Venezuela in 5 attempts.
Tallman, that's good info to review. Forward wid de details nah.
Guidance.