Renny Vicente Vega Hernández (, born 4 July 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. He played with the Venezuela national team for more than ten years, with his most successful moment being when he was a member of the historic

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...

squad that reached 4th place. His performances as goalkeeper under the leadership of coach

Richard Páez Richard Alfred Mayela Páez Monzón known as Richard Páez (born 31 December 1953) is a Venezuelan football manager former coach of Deportivo Cuenca from Ecuador and of the Venezuela national football team. Playing career Club Born in Mérid ...

, and currently

César Farías César Alejandro Farías Acosta (born 7 March 1973) is a Venezuelan football manager, currently in charge of Ecuadorian club Aucas. Farías is known for having coached Deportivo Táchira, Mineros de Guayana, Deportivo Anzoátegui and the Ve ...

, for the national team make him an important player in Venezuelan football's emergent recent history.

Club career

Venezuela and Europe

In 1997, Vega traveled to Italy to play in the youth ranks of

Udinese Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a foo ...

. However, he returned to Venezuela in 1998, joining

Nacional Táchira Club Nacional Táchira (usually called Nacional Táchira) was a professional club and the club has won one First Division title in the professional era. The club was based in Táchira. History The club was 2002 Torneo Clausura champion with 3 ...

, a first division club of his country. After two years with Nacional, Vega returned to Udinese remaining at the club for one year. He then returned to Venezuela and played for various First Division clubs, including

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

. In 2006, he was signed by

Carabobo , anthem = ''Carabobo State Anthem, Himno del Estado Carabobo'' , image_map = Carabobo in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map ...

, playing 29 games in the club. In 2007, because of his good performances with the national team and his club, he was transferred to Turkish club

Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern. In th ...

, being this his second adventure in the old continent. He established himself as the Turkish club's top keeper and appeared in 22 league matches. After his spell at Bursaspor, he joined to

Denizlispor Denizlispor, due to current sponsorship Altaş Denizlispor, is a Turkish sports club based in Denizli. It is known by its distinct green and black colors. The club's branches include football, volleyball, basketball, table tennis, and gymnastics ...

, playing only one friendly game for the club. In January 2009, after his bad spell at Denizlispor, Vega returned to Venezuela, joining

, the most successful team of his country. With Caracas he played both the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

and the local tournament. He had a successful semester at Caracas, winning the Venezuelan league title and also the cup title. In 2010, his team again qualified to the Copa Libertadores but had a poor Cup run, finishing last place in the group with 2 points. Although, since Caracas won the league title again, his team once again qualified to the continental tournament in 2011.

Colo-Colo

On 13 February 2012, was reported that Primera División club

Colo-Colo Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have never been relegated. The team has pla ...

and Caracas reached an agreement in a

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

100.000 fee for Vega on a long-season deal, being appointed on 16 January during a press conference at

Estadio Monumental There are a number of stadiums and venues known under the name of Estadio Monumental (''Monumental Stadium'') in different Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries: * Estadio Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina *Estadio Monumental David Ar ...

. However, because first-choice

Francisco Prieto Francisco Javier Prieto Caroca (born 1 July 1983) is a Chilean former footballer who played as a goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a ...

's well performances, Vega failed to play during championship first weeks, but following the resignation of Ivo Basay (team's coach) and 5–0 thrash of rivals

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

(where Prieto conceded those goals), he finally made his debut on 5 May against

Unión San Felipe Unión San Felipe is a Chilean Football club, their hometown is San Felipe in the V Región of Valparaíso. They play in the second level of the Chilean football league, the Primera B. They were the Copa Chile champions, and played the 2010 Cop ...

in a 1–0 home win. After five-match unbeaten with him in goal and caretaker coach Luis Pérez since one-nil over San Felipe (between Torneo Apertura's regular phase and playoffs), on 24 June, he conceded four goals in rematch semifinal against Universidad de Chile, after having won 2–0 in first leg at

Macul Macul ( Quechua: "to stretch out right hand") is a commune (smallest administrative subdivision in Chile) of Chile located in the central-eastern part of the Greater Santiago area, bordered by the communes of Ñuñoa to the north, San Joaquín ...

, where Vega made a well game.

International career

In 1998, Vega was named the best keeper of the Primera División youth ranks and one year later was listed in the

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

22–man squad of Venezuela national team by the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...

coach José Omar Pastoriza. He made his international debut on 30 July 1999 against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, in where his team lost 7–0, in a match that

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. Wide ...

realized a very well goal, who made an incredible dribbling that passed over the head of the centre back

José Manuel Rey José Manuel Rey Cortegoso (born 20 May 1975) is a Venezuelan former footballer who played as a central defender, currently a manager. Known as ''Pokémon'' and ''Tetero'', and a free kick specialist, he represented mainly Caracas in a 20-year ...

. Three seasons later, Renny was called–up by

to the

2001 Copa América The 2001 Copa América was held in Colombia, from 11 to 29 July. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. Colombia won the tournament for the 1st time without conceding a goal. Brazil were the defending champions wh ...

held in Colombia, not making an international appearance. In June 2007, was considered by Páez in an historic

for his country, that was made at

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

. Vega made his qualifiers debut in a 1–0 away win over

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa () is a multi-purpose stadium in Quito, Ecuador. It is currently used primarily for football matches and has a capacity of 35,724. Overview Built in 1951, it sits at the intersection of the Avenida 6 de Diciembre and ...

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, Pichincha ...

, his most successful and significant career match, then lost then against the

Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina. Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and ...

in the

Estadio José Pachencho Romero Estadio José Encarnación "Pachencho" Romero is a sports stadium in Maracaibo, capital of the Zulia state, in Venezuela. The stadium holds 40,800 spectators. The pitch was originally surrounded by both a running track and a scorched concrete cycl ...

with goals of the footballers of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

, the centre back

Gabriel Milito Gabriel Alejandro Milito (born 7 September 1980) is an Argentine former association football, footballer who played as a central defender, currently the Manager (association football), manager of Argentinos Juniors. He spent most of his professi ...

and the striker

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

, missing the following qualifier games against

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and Colombia, in where was replaced by the keeper Leonardo Morales, returning in a 1–1 away draw with

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

at the

Estadio Centenario Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centenary of Urugu ...

of the capital

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern ...

, in where received a header goal of

Diego Lugano Diego Alfredo Lugano Morena (; (born 2 November 1980) is a Uruguayan former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Nicknamed ''Tota'', Lugano played for a number of clubs in South America and Europe, including Plaza Colonia ...

. On 12 October 2008, Vega made his most poor performance in the qualifiers against Brazil conceding four goals in a 4–0 home win at the Estadio Polideportivo, receiving the same number of goals in March of the next year against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

. Prior to the

held in Argentina, Renny played two of the three friendly matches leading up to the tournament. The first game was a 2–0 win over Guatemala and in the second match against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, Vega committed two mistakes that led his team to a 3–0 loss. Vega played the full 90 minutes in the opening match of the Group B against Brazil. In an "impressive" performance he stopped a series of goal attempts from stars like

Neymar Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned play ...

and Alexandre Pato with the game ending in a 0–0 draw. After of the game, Vega said: "The big teams aren’t going to get an easy ride — they’ll have to scrap for everything in every game". On 13 July 2011, in the last game of the group stage against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, Venezuela advance to the knockout stage for second time in its history, after drawing 3–3 in dramatic fashion. The game was being lost 3–1 in the 85th minute, but thanks to a goal from

Miku __NOTOC__ Miku may refer to: People *Miku (みく), the vocalist for the Japanese rock band An Cafe *, member of the Japanese rock band Band-Maid * Miku Ishida (未来), Japanese teen idol *Miku Itō (美来), Japanese voice actress *Miku Kanem ...

in the 89th minute, the team looking for the equalizer in the 93rd minute, in which Vega went up for a corner and headed the ball assisting centre back Grenddy Perozo in scoring the equalizing goal.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

Caracas * Primera División Venezolana: 2008–09, 2009–10 * Torneo de Clausura: 2009, 2010 *

Copa Venezuela The Copa Venezuela ( en, Venezuela Cup) is the national cup football competition of Venezuela. Organized by the Venezuelan Football Federation, it is contested in the second half of the season by the teams in the Primera División and Segunda Div ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

International

: Fourth place 2011

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vega, Renny 1979 births Living people People from Carabobo Association football goalkeepers Venezuelan footballers Venezuela international footballers 1999 Copa América players 2001 Copa América players 2007 Copa América players 2011 Copa América players Udinese Calcio players Deportivo Italia players Deportivo Táchira F.C. players Caracas FC players Aragua FC players Carabobo F.C. players Bursaspor footballers Denizlispor footballers Colo-Colo footballers Deportivo La Guaira players C.F. União players Süper Lig players Chilean Primera División players Primeira Liga players Venezuelan expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Chile Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Portugal Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Chile Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Portugal