Venezuela, which 12 years ago lagged even below India in the FIFA rankings, has risen like the proverbial phoenix to become a major South American footballing nation.

The Venezuela soccer team, which was 110th in the 1999 FIFA rankings - four rungs below India - has vastly improved and now boasts an impressive 44th position in the current official listings.

The rise of the 'La Vinotinto' or 'The Burgundy' as the team is fondly called because of its jersey colour, is largely attributed to the massive infrastructural investment the country made to host the Copa America in 2007.

The country started climbing the ladder under then coach Richard Paez while incumbent Cesar Farias has carried the process further.

After a miserable 1998 World Cup qualifiers, Paez took over as the team's new head coach halfway through the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign. Venezuela was then languishing at the bottom of the table.

under his guidance, the side performed better in the latter stages of the qualifiers and for the first time, managed to avoid picking up the continent's wooden spoon.

Under Paez's stewardship talents like Giancarlo Maldonado, free-kick specialist Jose Manuel Rey and Venezuelan football's Golden Boy, Juan Arango flourished and with the team acquiring a new outlook. He once said: "In the old days, we knew we were going to lose and the target was to avoid a thrashing. Now we try to play with balance, to
attack as well as defend."

Venezuela, in spite of being in South America where football is the king, has had its affection more towards baseball and beauty queens. But with the improving performance of the team, the scenario is gradually changing.

The Venezuelan economy is dominated by the petroleum sector, which accounts for roughly a third of the GDP, around 80 percent of exports and more than half of government revenues. With some of the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the world, it consistently ranks among the top 10 crude oil producers in the world.

Venezuela, among the most urbanised countries in Latin America, had never made it past the first round of the Copa America from 1975 to 2004 but surprised soccer pundits by bagging a quarter final berth in the 2007 edition, followed by a fourth place finish in 2010.

In a stark contrast to their Venezuelan counterparts, the Indian football team, which mustered a lowly 106 in 1999, plummeted to 158 in the August FIFA rankings.

India's continued dismal performance at the football arena is mostly attributed to poor infrastructure and lack of appeal for the game.

Venezuela which also was plagued with similar problems however, seem to have overcome these hurdles to become a vastly improving team.

The nation's current good performance is credited to chief coach Farias, who closely worked with the under-20 team to pool a young side mixed with experience and bursting with talent.

Exuding confidence before the FIFA friendly against Argentina to be played at the city's Salt Lake Stadium Farias said: "We were traditionally known as the Cinderella team in South America. But now the scenario has changed. Our soccer is growing at a good pace. Football is a team game; we have been working to be a cohesive unit."

Buoyed by the team's success in the Copa America, Farias is hopeful of booking the ever elusive World Cup finals berth. "Results of the Copa shows the teams are very close. We hope to be in the next World Cup final stage."