Venezuela have long been considered footballing minnows in South America and have yet for make an appearance at a senior men’s World Cup finals. Nevertheless, the future of the sport looks bright. Traditionally a baseball powerhouse, football has been steadily growing in popularity and last year’s run to the final of the U20 World Cup hinted at a sign of things to come.
The likes of Yangel Herrera, Adalberto Penaranda, and Wuilker Farinez starred in South Korea and have been quickly fast-tracked to the senior set-up, as have a number of their U20 teammates. There is now a palpable sense of optimism that Venezuela have a real chance of qualifying for Qatar 2022.
However, the Vinotinto won’t be able to solely rely on this exciting crop of players and will need to continue to develop young talents if they are to establish themselves as a footballing power to be reckoned with. Below, we look at a selection of players born after the year 2000 that suggest their golden generation might not be just a one off.
DANNY PÉREZ
18-year-old forward Pérez shot to prominence in 2018 after he hit 7 goals in 22 games in Zamora’s Apertura title win, before making the move to Chilean giants Colo-Colo, via La Serena, this summer.
Perez started out at Deportivo La Guaira but only played a few first team games before his switch to Zamora. His old club soon rued its decision to let him go as Perez scored a brace against them in his very first game for Zamora.
Two of Perez’s main attributes are his searing pace and confidence at taking players on. As such he is often deployed as a wide forward where he has more space to run and commit defenders.
However, he is more than merely a speed merchant and has good penalty-box movement and decent heading ability too, as demonstrated by the well-taken goal below.
The exciting forward has also accrued experience in the U20 Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and U17 national team and will now set his sights on some Libertadores action with Colo-Colo. It seems Chile is a popular stepping stone for young Venezuelans and Perez will hope to follow in the footsteps of compatriots Yefferson Soteldo and Romulo Otero.
