Venezuela: Premier League Nations | OneFootball

Continuing our alphabetical world tour, next up is Venezuela. The only CONMEBOL country to never appear in a World Cup, Venezuela have for years been the victim of a strong South American continent (and the fact their national sport is baseball, but that’s another argument).

According to the Premier League website, just two players have represented Venezuela in the Premier League to date.

First Player – Fernando Amorebieta (Fulham; 2013-14)

Centre half Fernando Amorebieta moved to Fulham in 2013 after eight years with Athletic Bilbao, with Cottagers fans hopeful their side could challenge for Europe after recent forays in the Europa League.

Instead, 2013/14 was a disaster. Amorebieta featured 23 times as Fulham crashed out of the Premier League with a whimper. It was to prove his only Premier League season, despite winning promotion with Middlesbrough two seasons later.

Though he was born in Venezuela, Amorebieta won caps for Spain’s under 19s. In 2011, three years after being an unused substitute in a senior match with Spain, he made his debut for the Venezuela national team, ultimately winning 15 caps.

Records

Other Players

More of a household name perhaps, the second and final Venezuelan to appear in the Premier League was Salomon Rondon, who spent four years in the Premier League with West Brom and Newcastle.

Trivia