Football in Bolivia is considered as the national sport and as an entertaining activity. Nevertheless, its history in the sport is visibly poor; the group stage marking their best record at the FIFA World Cup since the creation of the competition. They have not accomplished much in general, and it is obviously their short history and weak campaigns at all levels overtime that have made them one of the world’s less valued teams.
A Recap Of Bolivia’s Copa America History And Record
La Verde began participating in the tournament in 1926, when they ended in fifth place. They finished a rank higher in the following year, but then withdrew from the six following editions, only to make a return in 1945. They underwent unsatisfying campaigns within a period of eight years, then withdrew again in 1955, 1956 and 1957.
In 1963, for the first and only time, they emerged champions; yet nothing memorable followed that episode until 1997, when they reached another final but had to be content with silver medals. Since then, Bolivia has been hit with first round exits, failing to recover from their wounds each time. Below is their record in the Copa America:
Champions: 1963
Runners-Up: 1997
Fourth Place: 1927, 1949
Fifth Place: 1926
Sixth Place: 1945, 1946, 1953, 1967
Seventh Place: 1959
Quarterfinals: 1995
Round 1: 1975, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007
Bolivia’s 2011 Copa America Coach And Squad
The Coach:
Gustavo Quinteros will be tied with the task of bettering the image of Bolivia in the 2011 Copa America in Argentina. The former defender was placed in charge of the Bolivian national football team in November last year, but his appointment as a manager surely does not come without any huge assignment. This year however, he has yet to win a match with La Verde, with three losses and two draws so far.
Bolivia’s 2011 Copa America 23-man squad roster:
Goalkeepers: Carlos Erwin Arias, Sergio Galarza, Daniel Vaca
Defenders: Lorgio Alvarez, Santos Amador, Luis Gutierrez, Miguel Hoyos, Ronald Raldes, Ronald Rivero, Edemir Rodriguez.
Midfielders: Jhasmani Campos, Rudy Cardozo, Jose Luis Chavez, Walter Flores, Ronald Garcia, Alejandro Gomez, Edvaldo Hermoza, Jaime Robles, Joselito Vaca, Christian Vargas.
Forwards: Juan Carlos Arce, Marcelo Moreno, Ricardo Pedriel, Alcides Pena, Mauricio Saucedo
Watch Video Highlights of the Bolivian National Team
