By Thales Machado, direct from Buenos Aires
The last great glory for Bolivian football was 6-1 rout of Argentina led by Maradona in the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. Before that, it was qualifying for the World Cup in the USA in 1994, where they beat Brazil in the qualifiers.It is no coincidence, but the victories took place in La Paz, at an altitude higher than 3,500 metres where the oxygen is thin, and the players who are not accustomed to it feel the altitude which has for many years hampered their performance.
The Bolivian National Team, with the vast majority of players playing at home, have this as the only trump card in recent years.Unfortunately, the altitude cannot be called up to the squad by coach Gustavo Quinteros for the Copa America.
Bolivia, along with Peru, have the greatest misfortune in the Copa America. Since 1993, when it qualified for the World Cup, Bolivia has been falling in South American football scene and cannot seem to rebuild. Today, the country is even behind Venezuela, the former ugly duckling of South American football.
The last strong performance by Bolivia in the Copa America was in 1999, when they hosted the competition, and precisely because of this fact, managed to reach the finals, being eliminated by Brazil and Ronaldo. Moreover, elimination in the first phase in the last four editions in a competition where two thirds of the teams in the first phase qualify show how badly the legs walk in Bolivian football.
If there is nostalgia for better times, the nostalgia is the only title in Bolivia’s history in world football: the 1963 Copa America, which was the country’s best participation in the competition, when it also hosted it.
Bolivia is preparing to change this pattern of losses in the Copa America, and despite the lack of international experience in the squad squad, had a good warm-up ahead of the tournament.
Of the few Bolivian assets to the Copa America, the biggest of them has a foot in Brazil. It’s Marcelo Moreno, a Bolivian born in Santa Cruz, to a Brazilian father. Striker Moreno plays today at Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine, alongside Brazilian Jadson, and the Bolivian hopes for goals.
Bolivia in Group A, even with all the problems, could still progress due to the fragility of the group and the rules of the competition. The first game is against hosts Argentina and, despite the rout in 2009, Bolivia are hardly likely to get anything better than a defeat by a few goals. The hope is to win against the weak selection of Costa Rica and try to surprise the unknown Colombia The hope is for a third place finish, or less likely, second place, to take them to the quarter-finals.This is because the competition includes the two best third-placed teams in the quarter-finals.
Dreaming does not cost anything, but in the case of Bolivia, is very difficult.
The Squad
(Preliminary squad of 25 players, two to be cut on the 26th)
Goalkeepers: Carlos Erwin Arias (Maccabi Netanya, ISR), Sergio Galarza (Blooming, BOL), Daniel Vaca (The Strongest, BOL).
Defenders: Lorgio Alvarez (Bolivar, BOL), Santos Amador (Nacional Potosi, BOL), Luis Gutierrez (Oriente Petrolero, BOL), Miguel Hoyos (Oriente Petrolero, BOL), Ronald Raldes (Colon, ARG), Ronald Rivero (Bolivar, BOL), Edemir Rodriguez (Bolivar, BOL).
Midfielders: Jhasmani Campos (Oriente Petrolero, BOL), Rudy Cardozo (Bolivar, BOL), Jose Luis Chavez (Blooming, BOL), Walter Flores (Bolivar, BOL), Ronald Garcia (Bolivar, BOL), Alejandro Gomez (Blooming, BOL), Edvaldo Hermoza (Naval, POR), Jaime Robles (Aurora, BOL), Joselito Vaca (Oriente Petrolero, BOL), Christian Vargas (San Jose, BOL).
Forwards: Juan Carlos Arce (Oriente Petrolero, BOL), Marcelo Moreno (Shakhtar Donetsk, UKR), Ricardo Pedriel (Sivasspor, TUR), Alcides Pena (Oriente Petrolero, BOL), Mauricio Saucedo (Oriente Petrolero).
Group Stage:
Argentina, July 1 in La Plata
Costa Rica, July 7 in Jujuy
Colombia, July 10 in Santa Fe
Statistics:
FIFA Ranking: 97
Appearances in the Copa America: 23
Best performance: Champions in 1963
Last Copa America: Finished bottom of Group A
Follow the teams analysed by Sambafoot:
Sambafoot will be profiling each of the 12 teams in the competition. Next up is Colombia, who are the only team apart from Brazil to lift the trophy in the last five tournaments.
