Bolivia at the Copa América

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Scene from the opening match of the 2011 Copa América against Argentina which ended in a 1–1 draw.
Ramiro Blacut (here in 2004) was the player of the tournament in 1963. Playing in Argentina at the time, he was one of only two Bolivian squad members who played outside of Bolivia.

The Copa América is South America's major tournament in senior men's soccer and determines the continental champion. Until 1967, the tournament was known as South American Championship. It is the oldest continental championship in the world with its first edition held in 1916.

Bolivia participated for the first time in 1926, but it took 23 years (26 matches) until their first victory.

1963 was a special year for Bolivia in tournament history. The country not only hosted the South American Championship for the first time. The two host cities, Cochabamba and La Paz, both lie in Andean valleys and are at a much higher altitude than large parts of the continent. With the thin air as a major home advantage, Bolivia won the tournament unbeaten and earned their first and only international title. Forward Ramiro Blacut is the only Bolivian to be awarded an individual trophy when he was honoured as best player of the tournament that same year.

With a notable exception in 1997, when Bolivia reached the final in their second-ever home tournament, the team has been hugely unsuccessful in the past decades. From 1999 to 2021, they only won a single match (3–2 vs Ecuador in 2015).

Overall record[]

Bolivia missed out on the first nine South American championships (1916–1925) because the FBF was only founded in 1926.

South American Championship / Copa América record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
Argentina 1916 Did not participate
Uruguay 1917
Brazil 1919
Chile 1920
Argentina 1921
Brazil 1922
Uruguay 1923
Uruguay 1924
Argentina 1925
Chile 1926 Fifth place 5th 4 0 0 4 2 24 Squad
Peru 1927 Fourth place 4th 3 0 0 3 3 19 Squad
Argentina 1929 Did not participate
Peru 1935
Argentina 1937
Peru 1939
Chile 1941
Uruguay 1942
Chile 1945 Sixth place 6th 6 0 2 4 3 16 Squad
Argentina 1946 Sixth place 6th 5 0 0 5 4 23 Squad
Ecuador 1947 Seventh place 7th 7 0 2 5 6 21 Squad
Brazil 1949 Fourth place 4th 7 4 0 3 13 24 Squad
Peru 1953 Sixth place 6th 6 1 1 4 6 15 Squad
Chile 1955 Did not participate
Uruguay 1956
Peru 1957
Argentina 1959 Seventh place 7th 6 0 1 5 4 23 Squad
Ecuador 1959 Withdrew
Bolivia 1963 Champions 1st 6 5 1 0 19 13 Squad
Uruguay 1967 Sixth place 6th 5 0 1 4 0 9 Squad
South America 1975 Group stage 8th 4 1 0 3 3 9 Squad
South America 1979 Group stage 6th 4 2 0 2 4 7 Squad
South America 1983 Group stage 8th 4 0 2 2 4 6 Squad
Argentina 1987 Group stage 7th 2 0 1 1 0 2 Squad
Brazil 1989 Group stage 9th 4 0 2 2 0 8 Squad
Chile 1991 Group stage 9th 4 0 2 2 2 7 Squad
Ecuador 1993 Group stage 10th 3 0 2 1 1 2 Squad
Uruguay 1995 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 1 2 5 6 Squad
Bolivia 1997 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 0 1 10 5 Squad
Paraguay 1999 Group stage 9th 3 0 2 1 1 2 Squad
Colombia 2001 Group stage 11th 3 0 0 3 0 7 Squad
Peru 2004 Group stage 9th 3 0 2 1 3 4 Squad
Venezuela 2007 Group stage 10th 3 0 2 1 4 5 Squad
Argentina 2011 Group stage 12th 3 0 1 2 1 5 Squad
Chile 2015 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 1 2 4 10 Squad
United States 2016 Group stage 14th 3 0 0 3 2 7 Squad
Brazil 2019 Group stage 12th 3 0 0 3 2 9 Squad
Brazil 2021 Group stage 10th 4 0 0 4 2 10 Squad
Ecuador 2024 Qualified
Total 1 Title 28/47 119 20 26 73 108 298

1963 South American Championship[]

Bolivia's 1963 squad which won the title at their first home tournament.

Bolivia played their first match of the tournament against Ecuador. After they had given away an early 2–0 leading to a 2–4 deficit after 50 minutes, the match ended in a 4–4 draw. Subsequently, the Bolivian hosts won their matches against Colombia (2–1), Peru (3–2), Paraguay (2–0) and Argentina (3–2).

The table after five out of six match days looked as follows.

Position Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Bolivia 5 4 1 0 14 9 +5 9
2  Paraguay 5 4 0 1 12 6 +6 8
3  Argentina 5 3 0 2 14 9 +5 6
4  Brazil 5 2 1 2 8 8 +0 5
5  Peru 6 2 1 3 8 11 −3 5
6  Ecuador 5 0 2 3 10 15 −5 2
7  Colombia 5 0 1 4 7 15 −8 1

Still to play:  Ecuador -  Colombia,  Argentina -  Paraguay,  Bolivia -  Brazil

Because a victory gave two points at the time, only Paraguay was able to put pressure on Bolivia on the last day of the tournament. In case of equal points, a play-off would have been held. In order to secure the title, Bolivia would have to earn at least as many points in their match against Brazil as Paraguay would in their match against Argentina.

The Paraguay match in La Paz ended 1–1, which meant Bolivia also needed at least a draw.

Match details

Bolivia 5–4 Brazil
Ugarte 15', 58'
Camacho 25'
García 62'
Alcócer 86'
Report Marco Antônio 26'
Almir 28'
Flávio 63', 66'
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: (Colombia Colombia)
GK Arturo López
DF Roberto Cainzo
DF Eduardo Espinoza
MF Máximo Ramírez
MF Wilfredo Camacho
MF Eulogio Vargas
FW Ramiro Blacut
FW Máximo Alcócer
FW Víctor Ugarte
FW Ausberto García
FW Fortunato Castillo
Manager:
Brazil Danilo Alvim
GK
DF Cláudio Danni
DF Jorge downward-facing red arrow
MF Procópio
MF Geraldino
MF
FW Tião
FW Almir
FW Flávio
FW Marco Antônio
FW Oswaldo
Substitutions:
DF Massinha upward-facing green arrow
Manager:
Brazil Aymoré Moreira

In spite of Brazil equalizing a two-goal lead twice, Bolivia secured the victory and the tournament title, two points ahead of Paraguay.

Record by opponent[]

Bolivia's highest victory at a Copa América is a 4–0 win against Colombia in 1949. A 1–10 defeat against Brazil in the same tournament, along with a 0–9 defeat against Uruguay at the 1927 edition, are Bolivia's highest defeats of all time.

Copa América matches (by team)
Opponent W D L Pld GF GA
 Argentina 2 2 12 16 10 50
 Brazil 2 0 9 11 13 42
 Chile 2 2 11* 15 17 49
 Colombia 3 5 4 12 14 14
 Costa Rica 0 0 2 2 0 6
 Ecuador 2 5 1 8 12 13
 Honduras 0 0 1 1 0 2
 Japan 0 1 0 1 1 1
 Mexico 1 2 0 3 3 1
 Panama 0 0 1 1 1 2
 Paraguay 1 2 8 11 8 31
 Peru 3 4 9 16 17 28
 Uruguay 2 1 13 16 6 50
 United States 1 0 0 1 1 0
 Venezuela 1 2 2 5 5 9
Total 20 26 73 119 108 298

* Includes a 2–2 draw awarded to Chile in 1953.

Record players[]

Rank Player Matches Tournaments
1 Víctor Ugarte 30 1947, 1949, 1953, 1959 and 1963
2 José Bustamante 24 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1953
3 Alberto Achá 23 1945, 1946, 1947 and 1949
Carlos Borja 23 1979, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1995
5 José Milton Melgar 22 1993, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997
6 Marco Etcheverry 21 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999
7 Vicente Arraya 20 1945, 1946, 1947 and 1949
8 Julio César Baldivieso 19 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2001
Juan Manuel Peña 19 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2007
10 17 1945, 1946 and 1947
Marco Sandy 17 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001

Top goalscorers[]

Rank Player Goals Tournaments (goals)
1 Víctor Ugarte 9 1949 (5), 1953 (2), 1963 (2)
2 Máximo Alcócer 7 1959 (2), 1963 (5)
3 Benigno Gutiérrez 5 1947 (2) and 1949 (3)
Erwin Sánchez 5 1991 (1), 1997 (3) and 1999 (1)
5 Ausberto García 4 1959 (1) and 1963 (3)
Wilfredo Camacho 4 1963
Marco Etcheverry 4 1993 (1), 1995 (1) and 1997 (2)
8 3 1945, 1946 and 1947
3 1953 (2) and 1959 (1)
Fortunato Castillo 3 1963
Ovidio Mezza 3 1975
Jaime Moreno 3 1997 (1) and 2007 (2)
Marcelo Moreno 3 2015 (2) and 2019 (1)

Awards and records[]

Team Awards

  • Champions 1x (1963)
  • Second Place 1x (1997)

Individual Awards[1]

Team Records

  • Victory with highest amount of goals conceded (5–4 vs Brazil, 31 March 1963. Tied with Brazil 6–4 Chile in 1937).
  • Highest draw (4–4 vs Ecuador, 10 March 1963)

References[]

  1. ^ "The Copa América Archive". July 19, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2019.

External links[]

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