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Venezuela names former goalkeeper as coach amid cash crunch

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuela's national soccer team has named former goalkeeper Rafael Dudamel as its coach, replacing Noel Sanvicente after a so-far disastrous campaign to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

At a Caracas news conference Friday, the soccer federation said it had chosen Dudamel, 43, partly because money wasn't available to attract international candidates.

Federation president Laureano Gonzalez says state-run oil company PDVSA hasn't made contributions to the national squad for months and contributions from other sponsors have plunged in value as a result of triple-digit inflation.

Gonzalez said the federation would have looked for a world-class replacement if it had the money, adding that Venezuelans must adjust to the new reality.