Bolivia national football team

Bolivia
Nickname(s) La Verde (The Green)[1]
Los Altiplanicos (The Highlanders)[1]
Association Bolivian Football Federation (FBF)
Confederation CONMEBOL (South America)
Head coach César Farías (Interim)
Captain Ronald Raldes
Most caps Ronald Raldes (102)
Top scorer Joaquín Botero (20)
Home stadium Estadio Hernando Siles
FIFA code BOL
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 58 Increase 1 (20 September 2018)
Highest 18 (July 1997)
Lowest 115 (October 2011)
Elo ranking
Current 48 Decrease 1 (11 July 2018)
Highest 22 (June 1997[2])
Lowest 86 (July 1989[2])
First international
 Chile 7–1 Bolivia Bolivia
(Santiago, Chile; 12 October 1926)
Biggest win
 Bolivia 7–0 Venezuela 
(La Paz, Bolivia; 22 August 1993)
 Bolivia 9–2 Haiti 
(La Paz, Bolivia; 3 March 2000)
Biggest defeat
 Uruguay 9–0 Bolivia Bolivia
(Lima, Peru; 6 November 1927)
 Brazil 10–1 Bolivia Bolivia
(São Paulo, Brazil; 10 April 1949)
World Cup
Appearances 3 (first in 1930)
Best result Group stage, 1930, 1950 and 1994
Copa América
Appearances 26 (first in 1926)
Best result Champions, 1963
Confederations Cup
Appearances 1 (first in 1999)
Best result Group stage, 1999

The Bolivia national football team (Selección de fútbol de Bolivia), also known as La Verde or Los Altiplanicos, has represented Bolivia in international football since 1926. Organized by the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF)[upper-alpha 1], it is one of the 10 members of FIFA's South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).

After playing in the 1930 and 1950 World Cups, they qualified just once — in 1994 where they lost 1–0 to defending champions Germany in the tournament's opening game in Chicago. Bolivia have never advanced past the first round of any World Cup, and have only scored one goal, in 1994. However, they did win the Copa América at home in 1963, and finished as runners-up in their following tournament as hosts in 1997. In the Copa América 2015 in Chile, after defeating Ecuador 3–2, they advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1997. This also ended a non-winning streak in the Copa América, with their last win being on 28 June 1997, when they defeated Mexico 1–0 in the semi-finals.[3]

History

Bolivia debuted in international football in 1926, one year after the foundation of the Bolivian Football Federation. As participants of the 1926 South American Championship in Chile, Bolivia scored first against the hosts with Téofilo Aguilar, but wound up defeated by the Chileans 7–1. Bolivia also lost the following three games, 0–5 against Argentina, 1–6 against Paraguay and 0–6 against Uruguay.[4]

In 1930, Bolivia was one of the teams invited to the inaugural edition of the World Cup, held in Uruguay. Drawn in Group 2 of the 1930 World Cup, Bolivia lost both its games 4–0, first to Yugoslavia at the Estadio Parque Central, and then to Brazil in the Estadio Centenario.[5] The match versus the Yugoslavs would be the last match against non-South American opposition for Bolivia until 1972 – when they again met Yugoslavia.[6] They returned in the 1950 World Cup, where Argentina's withdrawal from the qualifiers led Bolivia to an automatic berth. With three teams declining to play in Brazil, Bolivia was put in a group of two along with Uruguay. The Bolivians' only game was an 8–0 defeat to Uruguay at the Estádio Independência in Belo Horizonte.[7]

Bolivia's greatest football achievement was the 1963 South American Championship title, which they hosted and had the advantage of being better used to the higher altitudes.[8] Afterwards, the country only started to resurge at an international level with the creation of the Academia Tahuichi Aguilera in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in 1978, a football school that revealed players such as Marco Etcheverry, Erwin Sánchez and Luis Cristaldo. Under Spanish coach Xabier Azkargorta and featuring nine players from Tahuichi, Bolivia surprisingly became the first team to beat Brazil in the South American qualifiers while playing them in La Paz, and qualified for the 1994 World Cup finishing second in Group B of the CONMEBOL qualifiers behind the Brazilians themselves.[9] Bolivia was drawn into the tournament's Group C, and got selected as the adversary of defending champions Germany in the tournament's opening match. Bolivia played a great first half, outplaying Germany. In the second half Lothar Matheus took a 40 yard run and leveled Marco El Diablo Etcheverry. Etcheverry retaliated and was sent off. Eventually Bolivia lost on an offside goal by Klinsman. Following a goalless draw with South Korea at Foxboro Stadium, Bolivia returned to Chicago and lost 3–1 to Spain, with Sánchez scoring the first ever Bolivian goal in the World Cup.[10] Following that Bolivia again hosted the South American Championship, now known as Copa América, in 1997. Again, the team reached the final, to finish as runner-up to Brazil.[11]

In the 2015 Copa América in Chile, Bolivia were in Group A, with Chile, Mexico, and Ecuador. In their match against Mexico, Bolivia drew 0–0. However, against Ecuador, Bolivia won 3–2, with goals from Raldes, Smedberg-Dalence, and Martins. From this victory against Ecuador, Bolivia made it to the next round, the quarter-finals, for the first time since the 1997 tournament, in which they hosted it.[12] Bolivia were defeated by Peru 1–3 in the quarter-finals of the tournament. Bolivia's only goal of the game was a penalty in the last minutes of the match by Marcelo Martins Moreno.

Kit history

Bolivia's first uniforms were all white. In the 1930 FIFA World Cup, Bolivia painted before the starting match with Yugoslavia one of the letters in "Viva Uruguay" in each of the eleven starters' jerseys to please the local crowd. In the following game with Brazil, given the adversary also wore white Bolivia instead borrowed Uruguay's own blue uniform to play. Bolivia again painted a message to the hosts in the 1945 South American Championship, with the players' jerseys reading "Viva Chile". In 1946, Bolivia changed their jersey colors to black and white stripes, like the colors of the Cochabamba region. FBF reverted to white the following year. In 1957, FBF decided to use one of the colors in the Flag of Bolivia. Given red and yellow were used by many of the other South Americans, green became the primary color, leading to the nickname "El Verde" ("The Green").[13]

Kit providers

Kit provider Period
Brazil Penalty 1977–1979
Germany Adidas 1980–1982
Brazil Penalty 1983–1986
Germany Adidas 1987–1988
Bolivia El Palacio de las Gorras 1989-1990
Germany Adidas 1991–1992
England Umbro 1993–1999
Mexico Atletica 2000–2005
Ecuador Marathon 2006–2010
Peru Walon 2011–2014
Ecuador Marathon 2015–2019

Stadium

Bolivia play their home games at Estadio Hernando Siles, which has an altitude of 3,637 metres (11,932 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest football stadiums in the world. Many visiting teams protest that the altitude gives Bolivia an unfair advantage against opponents. On 27 May 2007, FIFA declared that no World Cup Qualifying matches could be played in stadiums above 8,200 feet (2,500 m) above sea level. However FIFA raised the altitude limit after months of campaigning against the ban, thus allowing the stadium to continue holding World Cup qualifying matches.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Group stage 12th 2 0 0 2 0 8 Qualified as invitees
Italy 1934 Did not enter Declined participation
France 1938
Brazil 1950 Group stage 13th 1 0 0 1 0 8 Qualified automatically
Switzerland 1954 Did not enter Declined participation
Sweden 1958 Did not qualify 4 2 0 2 6 6
Chile 1962 2 0 1 1 2 3
England 1966 4 1 0 3 4 9
Mexico 1970 4 2 0 2 5 6
West Germany 1974 4 0 0 4 1 11
Argentina 1978 8 3 1 4 10 25
Spain 1982 4 1 0 3 5 6
Mexico 1986 4 0 2 2 2 7
Italy 1990 4 3 0 1 6 5
United States 1994 Group stage 21st 3 0 1 2 1 4 8 5 1 2 22 11
France 1998 Did not qualify 16 4 5 7 18 21
South Korea Japan 2002 18 4 6 8 21 33
Germany 2006 18 4 2 12 20 37
South Africa 2010 18 4 3 11 22 36
Brazil 2014 16 2 6 8 17 30
Russia 2018 18 4 2 12 16 38
Qatar 2022 To be determined To be determined
Canada Mexico United States 2026
Total Group stage 3/23 6 0 1 5 1 20 150 39 29 82 177 284
FIFA World Cup History
YearRoundScoreResult
1930 Round 1 Bolivia 0 – 4 Kingdom of Yugoslavia YugoslaviaLoss
Round 1 Bolivia 0 – 4  BrazilLoss
1950 Round 1 Bolivia 0 – 8  UruguayLoss
1994 Round 1 Bolivia 0 – 1  GermanyLoss
Round 1 Bolivia 0 – 0  South KoreaDraw
Round 1 Bolivia 1 – 3  SpainLoss

FIFA Confederations Cup record

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Squad
Saudi Arabia 1992 Did not qualify
Saudi Arabia 1995
Saudi Arabia 1997
Mexico 1999 Group stage 6th 3 0 2 1 2 3 Squad
South Korea/Japan 2001 Did not qualify
France 2003
Germany 2005
South Africa 2009
Brazil 2013
Russia 2017
Asia 2021 To be determined
Total Group stage 1/11 3 0 2 1 2 3 -
FIFA Confederations Cup History
YearRoundScoreResult
1999 Round 1 Bolivia 2 – 2  EgyptDraw
Round 1 Bolivia 0 – 0  Saudi ArabiaDraw
Round 1 Bolivia 0 – 1  MexicoLoss

Copa América record

Copa América/South American Championship
Total: 1 Title
Year Position Year Position Year Position
1916No Participation1941Withdrew1979Round 1
1917No Participation1942Withdrew1983Round 1
1919No Participation1945Sixth Place1987Round 1
1920No Participation1946Sixth Place1989Round 1
1921No Participation1947Seventh Place1991Round 1
1922No Participation1949Fourth Place1993Round 1
1923No Participation1953Sixth Place1995Quarter-finals
1924No Participation1955Withdrew1997Runners-up
1925No Participation1956Withdrew1999Round 1
1926Fifth Place1957Withdrew2001Round 1
1927Fourth Place1959Seventh Place2004Round 1
1929Withdrew1959Withdrew2007Round 1
1935Withdrew1963Champions2011Round 1
1937Withdrew1967Sixth Place2015Quarter-finals
1939Withdrew1975Round 12016Round 1

Pan American Games record

Records

Most capped players

Players in bold are still active at international level. As of 10 September 2018, the ten players with the most caps for Bolivia are:

# Name Career Caps Goals
1. Ronald Raldes 2001– 102 3
2. Luis Héctor Cristaldo 1989–2005 93 4
Marco Antonio Sandy 1993–2003 93 6
4. José Milton Melgar 1980–1997 89 6
5. Julio César Baldivieso 1991–2005 85 15
Juan Manuel Peña 1991–2009 85 1
7. Carlos Fernando Borja 1979–1995 82 1
8. Miguel Ángel Rimba 1989–2000 80 0
9. Óscar Sánchez 1994–2006 76 6
10. Jaime Moreno 1993–2008 74 8

Top goalscorers

Players in bold are still active at international level. As of 10 September 2018, the ten players with the most goals for Bolivia are:

# Name Career Goals
1. Joaquín Botero 1999–2009 20
2. Víctor Agustín Ugarte 1947–1963 16
Marcelo Martins 2007– 17
4. Julio César Baldivieso 1991–2005 15
Erwin Sánchez 1989–2005 15
6 Carlos Aragonés 1977–1981 14
7. Máximo Alcócer 1953–1963 13
Marco Antonio Etcheverry 1989–2003 13
9. Miguel Aguilar 1977–1983 11
Juan Carlos Arce 2004– 11

2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification Standings

{{2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONMEBOL table}}

Match results and fixtures

Recent matches as well as any future scheduled matches.

Current squad

The following 19 players were called up for the friendly matches against  Myanmar on 13 October and  Iran on October 16, 2018.[14]
Caps and goals updated as of 10 September 2018, after the game against  Saudi Arabia.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Carlos Lampe (1987-03-17) 17 March 1987 24 0 Argentina Boca Juniors
1GK Guillermo Vizcarra (1993-02-07) 7 February 1993 3 0 Bolivia Oriente Petrolero

2DF Danny Bejarano (1994-01-03) 3 January 1994 21 0 Bolivia Oriente Petrolero
2DF José Sagredo (1994-03-10) 10 March 1994 11 0 Bolivia Blooming
2DF Gabriel Valverde (1990-06-24) 24 June 1990 10 0 Bolivia The Strongest
2DF Luis Haquin (1997-11-15) 15 November 1997 6 0 Bolivia Oriente Petrolero
2DF Jordy Candia (1996-04-20) 20 April 1996 5 0 Bolivia Sport Boys
2DF Carlos Áñez (1995-07-06) 6 July 1995 3 0 Bolivia Oriente Petrolero
2DF Óscar Ribera (1992-02-10) 10 February 1992 2 0 Bolivia Sport Boys
2DF Harry Céspedes (1998-07-27) 27 July 1998 0 0 Bolivia Royal Pari
2DF Ronny Montero (1991-05-15) 15 May 1991 0 0 Bolivia Jorge Wilstermann

3MF Jhasmani Campos (1988-05-10) 10 May 1988 49 5 Bolivia The Strongest
3MF Rudy Cardozo (1990-02-14) 14 February 1990 38 5 Bolivia The Strongest
3MF Erwin Saavedra (1996-02-22) 22 February 1996 14 0 Bolivia Bolívar
3MF Leonel Justiniano (1992-07-02) 2 July 1992 11 0 Bolivia Bolívar
3MF Diego Wayar (1993-10-15) 15 October 1993 9 0 Bolivia The Strongest
3MF Juan Ribera (1995-08-15) 15 August 1995 4 0 Bolivia Oriente Petrolero
3MF Cristián Arano (1995-02-23) 23 February 1995 0 0 Bolivia Blooming
3MF Carlos Melgar (1994-11-04) 4 November 1994 0 0 Bolivia Jorge Wilstermann
3MF Moisés Villarroel (1998-09-07) 7 September 1998 0 0 Bolivia Bolívar

4FW Marcelo Moreno (1987-06-18) 18 June 1987 68 17 China Wuhan Zall
4FW Gilbert Álvarez (1992-04-07) 7 April 1992 13 3 Saudi Arabia Al-Hazem
4FW Leonardo Vaca (1995-11-24) 24 November 1995 4 0 Bolivia Blooming
4FW Henry Vaca (1998-01-27) 27 January 1998 1 0 Bolivia The Strongest

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up during the last twelve months. Retired players are not included.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Rubén Cordano (1998-10-16) 16 October 1998 0 0 Bolivia Blooming v.  Curaçao, 26 March 2018
GK Romel Quiñónez (1992-06-25) 25 June 1992 14 0 Bolivia Bolívar v.  Uruguay, 10 October 2017

DF Jorge Rojas (1996-03-03) 3 March 1996 0 0 Bolivia Sport Boys v.  Saudi Arabia, 10 September 2018
DF Ronald Raldes (Captain) (1981-04-20) 20 April 1981 102 3 Bolivia Bolívar v.  Serbia, 9 June 2018
DF Gustavo Olguín (1994-11-13) 13 November 1994 0 0 Bolivia Oriente Petrolero v.  Serbia, 9 June 2018
DF Cristian Coimbra (1988-12-31) 31 December 1988 4 0 Bolivia Blooming v.  United States, 28 May 2018
DF Oscar Baldomar (1996-02-16) 16 February 1996 1 0 Bolivia Universitario v.  United States, 28 May 2018
DF Jesús Sagredo (1994-03-10) 10 March 1994 0 0 Bolivia Club Blooming v.  United States, 28 May 2018
DF Wilfredo Soleto (1996-02-21) 21 February 1996 0 0 Bolivia Club Destroyers v.  United States, 28 May 2018
DF Diego Bejarano (1991-08-24) 24 August 1991 23 2 Bolivia Bolívar v.  Curaçao, 26 March 2018
DF Maximiliano Ortíz (1989-10-11) 11 October 1989 2 0 Bolivia The Strongest v.  Curaçao, 26 March 2018
DF Pablo Pedraza (1995-03-10) 10 March 1995 2 0 Bolivia Bolívar v.  Curaçao, 26 March 2018
DF Juan Aponte (1992-05-18) 18 May 1992 1 0 Bolivia Jorge Wilstermann v.  Curaçao, 26 March 2018
DF Luis Alberto Gutiérrez (1985-03-10) 10 March 1985 46 0 Bolivia Bolívar v.  Uruguay, 10 October 2017
DF Edward Zenteno (1984-12-05) 5 December 1984 36 0 Bolivia Jorge Wilstermann v.  Uruguay, 10 October 2017
DF Marvin Bejarano (1988-03-06) 6 March 1988 35 0 Bolivia The Strongest v.  Uruguay, 10 October 2017
DF Leonel Morales (1988-09-02) 2 September 1988 11 0 Bolivia Bolívar v.  Uruguay, 10 October 2017
DF Mario Cuéllar (1989-05-05) 5 May 1989 1 0 Bolivia San José v.  Uruguay, 10 October 2017

MF Raúl Castro (1989-08-19) 19 August 1989 15 0 Bolivia The Strongest v.  Saudi Arabia, 10 September 2018
MF José Luis Vargas (1996-01-31) 31 January 1996 5 1 Bolivia Blooming v.  Saudi Arabia, 10 September 2018
MF Rodrigo Rodríguez (1990-07-04) 4 July 1990 3 0 Bolivia Oriente Petrolero v.  Serbia, 9 June 2018
MF Héctor Sánchez (1997-04-24) 24 April 1997 2 0 Bolivia Oriente Petrolero v.  Serbia, 9 June 2018
MF Leandro Maygua (1992-09-12) 12 September 1992 5 0 Bolivia Universitario de Sucre v.  United States, 28 May 2018
MF Fernando Saucedo (1990-03-15) 15 March 1990 5 0 Bolivia Wilstermann v.  United States, 28 May 2018
MF Rodrigo Borda (1992-02-11) 11 February 1992 0 0 Bolivia Universitario v.  United States, 28 May 2018
MF Jaime Alberto Cornejo (1994-09-20) 20 September 1994 0 0 Bolivia Aurora v.  United States, 28 May 2018
MF Sergio Moruno (1993-06-08) 8 June 1993 0 0 Bolivia Aurora v.  United States, 28 May 2018
MF Edson Pérez (1992-12-16) 16 December 1992 0 0 Bolivia Nacional Potosí v.  United States, 28 May 2018
MF Miguel Quiroga (1991-09-15) 15 September 1991 0 0 Bolivia Nacional Potosí v.  United States, 28 May 2018
MF Daniel Saravia (1989-10-30) 30 October 1989 0 0 Bolivia Destroyers v.  United States, 28 May 2018
MF Jhon García Sossa (2000-04-13) 13 April 2000 2 0 Chile Huachipato v.  Curaçao, 26 March 2018
MF Ramiro Vaca (1999-07-01) 1 July 1999 1 0 Bolivia The Strongest v.  Curaçao, 26 March 2018
MF Franz Gonzales (2000-06-26) 26 June 2000 0 0 Bolivia Sport Boys v.  Curaçao, 26 March 2018
MF Alejandro Chumacero (1991-04-22) 22 April 1991 38 2 Mexico Puebla v.  Curaçao, 23 March 2018
MF Pedro Azogue (1994-12-06) 6 December 1994 17 0 Bolivia Bolívar v.  Uruguay, 10 October 2017
MF Cristhian Machado (1990-06-20) 20 June 1990 3 0 United States New England Revolution v.  Uruguay, 10 October 2017

FW Bruno Miranda (1998-02-10) 10 February 1998 6 0 United States D.C. United v.  Saudi Arabia, 10 September 2018
FW Juan Carlos Arce (1985-04-10) 10 April 1985 66 11 Bolivia Bolívar v.  Serbia, 9 June 2018
FW Rodrigo Vargas (1994-10-19) 19 October 1994 6 0 Ukraine Karpaty Lviv v.  Serbia, 9 June 2018
FW Luis Alí (1994-04-17) 17 April 1994 5 0 Brazil Ponte Preta v.  Serbia, 9 June 2018
FW Ronaldo Sánchez (1997-04-24) 24 April 1997 2 0 Bolivia Oriente Petrolero v.  United States, 28 May 2018
FW Eduardo Fierro (1988-06-23) 23 June 1988 3 0 Bolivia Bolívar v.  Uruguay, 10 October 2017

Notes

  1. The acronym FBF comes from the organization's Spanish name, Federación Boliviana de Fútbol.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Famous Bolivian Footballers". Your Spanish Translation. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 "World Football Elo Ratings: Bolivia". eloratings.net. World Football Elo Ratings. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  3. "Ecuador 2 − Bolivia 3". futbol.univision.com. Univision Communications Inc. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  4. Historia de Nuestro Fútbol, Capítulo 2. Nacen la FBF y la Selección 1925–1926
  5. Bolivia en la Copa del Mundo, Capítulo 1. Uruguay 1930
  6. "Bolivia- International Results". Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  7. Bolivia en la Copa del Mundo, Capítulo 2. Brasil 1950
  8. Copa América 1963 -Bolivia: a new champion is born
  9. TAHUICHI HISTORY
  10. 1994 FIFA World Cup Technical Report (p. 133)
  11. Copa América 1997 – Brazil Win their First Cup Away from Home
  12. http://www.conmebol.com/es/15062015-1911/grupo-bolivia-derrota-3-2-ecuador-y-acaricia-los-cuartos
  13. World Cup Kits: When Bolivia wore Uruguayan shirts to ingratiate fans
  14. "CONVOCADOS A LA SELECCIÓN BOLIVIANA DE FÚTBOL". noticiaaldia.com. Retrieved 4 Octo 2018. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
Preceded by
1959 UruguayUruguay
South American Champions
1963 (First title)
Succeeded by
1967 UruguayUruguay
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