JOIN US'Red Wine' squad gains full flow
Seen for years as the soft touch in South American football, Venezuela's fast-maturing team are inching closer to a first World Cup appearance in a potential triumph for their young homegrown coach.
After a traumatic few weeks for Venezuelans over the death of President Hugo Chavez and start of an acrimonious election campaign to replace him, Tuesday's 1-0 win over Colombia was a rare moment of national unity and celebration.
"This team shows its character in adversity," said striker Jose Salomon Rondon whose 14th-minute winner buried the disappointment of a 3-0 loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires and put Venezuela fifth in the South American qualifying standings.
"This win is a joy for everyone, for the whole country." Fans celebrated wildly at the stadium in the steamy southern city of Puerto Ordaz, and in bars and homes across the nation.
Despite a sometimes fractious relationship with fans and the media, coach Cesar Farias, who only turned 40 this month, was feted for his tactics against a strong Colombia team who had been on a run of four wins and are third in the table. At the end of the long South American campaign in October, the top four qualify for next year's World Cup, with the fifth-placed team going into a play-off against Asian opponents.
Venezuela, who play a fast and often slick passing game when at their best and are finally overcoming traditional defensive naivety, have not been a pushover for several years now. Farias took them to the semi-finals of the continental Copa America tournament in 2011 in the greatest achievement of Venezuelan football. They also famously beat Argentina at the start of the latest World Cup qualifying round.
"We used to be a joke, now we can hold our heads high with the rest of them," said Venezuela fan Marco Bandres, 26, celebrating the win over Colombia with friends in Caracas. "There's still plenty to improve on, but I really believe we can make it to Brazil. I'm saving my money to go!"
Farias was more animated than usual on the touchline on Tuesday as he watched Venezuela waste several great chances to extend their lead, then survive a scare when Colombia striker Radamel Falcao's hit the bar in the 79th minute. "My analysis is quite short," Farias said.
"We had more goal opportunities than our rivals, we created more and we could have won by a big scoreline. The whole country is celebrating and knows that there is a real possibility of qualifying for the World Cup."
Fourth-placed Chile and Venezuela have 15 points from 11 matches, two ahead of Uruguay. The South American group is led by Argentina on 24 points with Ecuador on 20 and Colombia 19. The burgundy-colored 'Vinotinto' ('Red Wine') squad, as Venezuela are known to their fans, temporarily eclipsed local politics with their win over neighbours and rivals Colombia.
Suarez to miss tie
Sriker Luis Suarez will miss South American champions Uruguay's crucial World Cup qualifier in Venezuela, the upstarts threatening to deny them a place in next year's finals in Brazil.
Suarez, who has scored eight goals in the qualifying campaign, picked up a second booking during Tuesday's 2-0 loss to Chile in Santiago and is suspended for Uruguay's June 11 visit to Venezuela.
However, Suarez got away with punching Chile's Gonzalo Jara as they tussled in the penalty area at a corner and could face further disciplinary action if FIFA acts on the incident which Argentine referee Nestor Pitana missed.
A spokesman for South American body Conmebol said any such incident would only be dealt with by FIFA should it be mentioned in the fourth official's report. Suarez, often embroiled in controversy playing for English club Liverpool, was booked in September's 1-1 draw with Ecuador in Montevideo during a run in which Uruguay have taken two points from six matches, a paltry return for the 2011 Copa America winners and 2010 World Cup semi-finalists.
However, the twice world champions who have so often punched above their weight have become accustomed to barren World Cup years as much as scraping into the finals in playoffs against teams from other confederations.
"What we have closest is a fight for fifth place so that's why the match with Venezuela has defining circumstances," Uruguay coach Oscar Washington Tabarez said.