After ending 2023 in fourth place in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers, Venezuela will end 2024 out of the qualification places.
The reality of ‘Bocha’ Batista’s team is that they have a lot of issues in possession.
Historically, Venezuelan midfielders are a different biotype than those who are currently on the rise.
Tomás Rincón and José ‘Brujo’ Martínez are the most representative example.
Both types of defensive midfielders can be considered destroyers.
Even Yangel Herrera or Cristian Cásseres are more physical than technical midfielders.
The new generation has various midfielders with excellent passing and ball-striking techniques.
At the U23 Pre-Olympics, Bryant Ortega, Carlos Faya, Telasco Segovia and David Martínez showed Venezuela’s capacity to play in a prettier way.
Kervin ‘Tuti’ Andrade and Dani Pereira are also midfielders with good technical abilities.
Although each player is at a different stage of their development, Telasco Segovia has been the most impactful player on the national team.
In the short term, it seems like the 21-year-old is the only rising midfielder who has the chance to make a real impact on ‘Bocha’ Batista’s side.
In this scouting report and tactical analysis, we will provide an in-depth analysis of Telasco Segovia, a deep dive into how he can fix many problems in Venezuela’s game model and tactics.
Who Is Telasco Segovia?
Segovias path through the youth categories has been nothing short of perfect.
In every category, international tournament, and even national league, his name has been in everyone’s mouths.
That is why its reasonable to see him as one of the first U23s to erupt in the senior national team, alongside Jon Aramburu.
In that sense, Jordan Florit, the best-known English-speaking Venezuelan football expert, summarises Segovias process perfectly.
“If one of the final starlets to benefit from the now-scrapped Juvenile Rule can be named the Official Liga FUTVE Young Player of the Year in 2021, win Player of the Tournament at the Tournoi Maurice Revello in 2022, and move to the Portuguese Premier Division after a loan in Serie A in 2023, but not close 2024 as a serious piece for Venezuela’s World Cup qualification hopes in 2025, what has this process all been for?
Alongside David Martinez and Kervin Andrade, Venezuela’s midfield has demonstrated it needs the youthful injection of quality Segovia can provide.
This year, Segovia has made excellent appearances in the ‘Vinotinto’ shirt at three different tournaments: U23 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympics, Copa América, and CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.
What Kind Of Midfielder Is Telasco Segovia?
Telasco Segovia has mainly played as a number eight, in a double pivot and closer to the final line, like an attacking midfielder.
He has even occasionally featured as a second striker.
His experience lies in his ideal position.
We can compare his situation with Enzo Fernandez, another who has played in advanced positions, and the endless debate on his best possible zone of influence.
Although Segovia has played in advanced positions, he is better when he is the axis of the possession.
Javier Semeler, a well-known journalist and analyst from Venezuela, describes Telasco Segovia as “The ‘pausa’ amongst the storm”.
Because of his accuracy and tempo with the ball, Telasco Segovia dictates the rhythm of the possession – constantly opening passing lanes and shaking the oppositions block with his long-passing range.
So, in terms of role, Segovias perfect description would be as a deep-lying playmaker.
Even though he has an offensive tendency, he works a lot when defending, leading some metrics in that part of the game, as his radar shows.
Telasco Segovia Radar Chart
Is Telasco Segovia The Answer To Venezuela’s Problems?
Telasco possesses ‘pausa’ — a term and technique weve analysed in detail before at Total Football Analysis — which Venezuela always miss, as they are in ninth place with the fewest accurate passes per match (214) in this CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification tournament.
During the build-up, Venezuela’s block tends to maintain a lot of distance between potential combinations.
As the attacking midfielder, Jefferson Savarin
