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 lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

. 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 association football, football tournament for national ...

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 Mér ...

, and later

César Farías César Alejandro Farías Acosta (born 7 March 1973) is a Venezuelan football manager. Farías is known for having coached Deportivo Táchira, Mineros de Guayana, Deportivo Anzoátegui and the Venezuelan U-20 team. He is the first and only ma ...

, for the national team made 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 (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

. 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 the 2002 Torneo Clausura champion with ...

, 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 (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 northern p ...

. In 2006, he was signed by

Carabobo Carabobo State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, located in the north of the country, about two hours by car from Caracas. The state capital city is Valencia, which is also the country's main industrial center. The state's area is and ...

, 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 Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...

, 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 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. The Denizli Atatürk Stadium, which has a seati ...

, 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 in his country. With Caracas he played both the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

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 for 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 Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...

and Caracas reached an agreement in a

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

100.000 fee for Vega on a long-season deal, being appointed on 16 January during a press conference at Estadio Monumental. However, because first-choice Francisco Prieto's well performances, Vega failed to play during championship first weeks, but following the resignation of

Ivo Basay Ivo Alexie Basay Hatibović (born 13 April 1966) is a Chilean football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Magallanes. Apart from being a regular choice for the Chile national football team in the ...

(team's coach) and 5–0 thrash of rivals

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile () is a public research university in Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the co ...

(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. The club was founded on October 16, 1956 with the merger ...

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 of Chile located in the central-eastern part of the Greater Santiago area, bordered by the communes of Ñuñoa to the north, San Joaquín to the west, Peñalolén to the east and L ...

, 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 CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

22–man squad of Venezuela national team by the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

coach

José Omar Pastoriza José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

. He made his international debut on 30 July 1999 against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, 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 former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

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 two-time defending cha ...

held in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, 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, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

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

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

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 35,258. Overview Built in 1951, it sits at the intersection of the Avenida 6 de Diciembre an ...

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

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

Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team (), nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' (), represents Argentina in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino ( ...

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 northeastern coast of 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 c ...

, the centre back

Gabriel Milito Gabriel Alejandro Milito (born 7 September 1980) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He is the current head coach of Liga MX club Guadalajara. Milito began and concluded his professional career at Ind ...

and the striker

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

, missing the following qualifier games against

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

, 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, 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

at the

Estadio Centenario Centenario Stadium (, ; , named after the Constitution of Uruguay of 1830, centenary of Constitution of Uruguay, Uruguay's Constitution) is an association football stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay. Located in the Parque Batlle, Parque Battle neig ...

of the capital

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, in where received a header goal of

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

. 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, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. 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 Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and in the second match against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, 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), also known as Neymar Júnior or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left winger, attacking midfielder or Forward (association foo ...

and

Alexandre Pato Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva (; born 2 September 1989), commonly known as Alexandre Pato () or just Pato, is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Pato began ...

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, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, 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 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 Grenddy Adrián Perozo Rincón (born 28 February 1986) is a Venezuelan football manager and former player who played as a centre back. He is the current assistant manager of Colombian club Junior. International career A tough tackling, no non ...

in scoring the equalizing goal.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Caracas *

Venezuelan Primera División The Primera División (; ), or Liga Venezolana (; ) is the top-flight professional football league of Venezuela. It was created in 1921 and turned professional in 1957. It is organized by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol. Format Starting i ...

: 2008–09, 2009–10 * Torneo de Clausura: 2009, 2010 *

Copa Venezuela The Copa Venezuela () 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 División, excluding ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

individual *

Team of the Tournament:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vega, Renny 1979 births Living people Footballers from Carabobo Men's association football goalkeepers Venezuelan men's footballers Venezuela men's 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 F.C. players Aragua F.C. 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 men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Chile Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Chile Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Portugal