La gesta de Bolivia

It is June 17, 1994 and Bolivia listens to the national anthem. It is its World Cup debut with all the honors. It had already participated in 1930 and 1950, but then it was as a guest. For the first time in history, Bolivia competed in a World Cup, earning the right on the field for an incredible An achievement that, known in detail, acquires the status of a feat and that had begun two years before in the worst possible way. It took place in November 1992 and landed in Bolivia as coach. Javier Azcargorta in Spain has been training in the first division for eight years.

In Bolivia, no one knows him. When I arrived here, I actually arrived in the 92nd centenary of the discovery, another Spaniard who came to steal our money and deceive us, they said that I was an illustrious stranger, the reception was quite hostile, we knew he was a young coach who had started directing. very young in Spain' for us it was a surprise for all of Bolivia in general it was a surprise and I didn't know him Javier I think no one knew him here in Bolivia he was a mystery here he didn't have much credibility at the beginning because he wasn't well known to our environment at all.

At first it took a while for people to accept that a Espanyol arrived to lead the national team, but Azkargorta's worst moment in Bolivia was in June 1993 when he lost a friendly match in La Paz against Bolivia's great rival Chile Chile did not reach recount the cruelty of the Bolivian public towards their team applause for the rival especially for the Spanish Union players everything not indirect for the Spanish coach especially for those of the Spanish Union then the press took its revenge the headlines were Basque you ate it go back home you are stealing the thing cruel imagine losing with chile here at home we almost left escorted by police from the stadium the more they wanted to kill us they told us everything in fact they appealed to the bus where we were we saw them fired all alone or you invade the country for the crumb of land although the worst consequence of that match would come a few days later when a threatening letter arrived that if you don't leave Bolivia I don't know anything until they got to the point that it is very difficult to withstand the pressure that at the beginning was the death threat and the truth is that what happened is that when I opened the letter in the hotel there was a group of journalists and that was why I thought it was someone of those who does anything for a little over a year to Starting the 94 World Cup, this is how things were for a team that had just arrived from a long trip in the worst conditions.

It was one of Azkargorta's bets in the preparation of the team with Starz in the magnificent Sant Cugat car. Bolivia landed there in May 1993 to spend three weeks 21 days of good facilities but practically no money for the players, an eternity we have 20 dollars in daily travel expenses, there was no more, there was no salary, there was nothing in the federation, I didn't have a peso, reached the extension, lost the money I earned in your club the first time more than one book a weekend the next time he wanted to give a book a perfect train because he won't have the money to go to the train he didn't know to stay the weekend and the high performance center missing to the family and apart from the fact that we were illustrious strangers there, I didn't even know where Bolivia was nor did people talk to us there in El Cari, it was a few months of hard work, hard work, three weeks of confinement without money and almost without going out or talking to the families and also a long tour of friendlies carried out in conditions that bordered on poverty.

If you check and see the hotel we had, we can tell the anecdote that we couldn't reach the water to shower, we all had to finish training, you see, we have to run and stop because the first ones who grabbed could shower the other two and it was shouting water water because if not it's not that we had the comforts we had no salary after the European tour the Copa América in Ecuador arrived Bolivia was eliminated in the first phase although it did measure up against the three best teams Colombia Argentina and Mexico it is July 1993 and qualification for the World Cup is about to make its appearance.

Azkargorta's new Bolivia is about to make its appearance. The harshness of everything they experienced in Europe in such precarious conditions had strengthened them as a group, but in such a difficult journey. Professor Azkargorta had also carried out first-rate psychological work, saying goodbye to Bolivian historical victimhood. What the professor did was convince us that we could do more. He was very sincere when he arrived and said these things, they are doing them wrong, we have to correct them. He drives with phrases with phrases that we have recorded, we all always said first, it's here and now there is nothing more than ours, he saw, he told us, don't listen to anything we want, don't listen to when he played with Brazil against Argentina, you're already thinking, let's see how many goals you'll get.

It was totally different for us to score in the tie because I remember that we played at home and away from home at the same level as the rival, so from then on we changed that mentality, obviously convincing us that there was capacity within the group, a good capacity that the teacher knew how to exploit it to the fullest with his new mentality on July 18, 1993 Bolivia began its World Cup qualification by visiting Venezuela there is still a place for the old victimhood at 20 minutes we lost 10 and you have to listen to the video of that match of what begins in these journalists and well and the usual history Bolivia beyond beyond that it is preparing and Spain as if thinking that the victory of Venezuela was a fact many people turned off the television and said the same thing again and did not see the first half we have friends who themselves told us that at half time they say how much we are losing 31 like this and we know the same thing again no we are not winning than winning 3-1 if everyone turned on the television many people in Bolivia did not see these goals from the first time that finished 13th and in the second half another four arrived to seal a 17th that served as the beginning of the great change in Bolivian football.

This record has not yet been improved in terms of the greatest difference of an away victory in a qualifying round. In Venezuela he gave the first push but it was the second game that made the whole world turn towards Bolivia Brazil had never lost a qualifying match for a World Cup so the process is to load it he made a very special preparation for the match a talk that The teacher said it was special because I speak very little about Brazil, only in very few Brazil, they are not from another planet either, all that time we were working on confidence in self-esteem, we played that game as we had been playing with everything with a conviction of winning when Brazil came and found a different team than the Bolivian one they had encountered before.

Maybe that shocked them. Bolivia missed many chances but above all they had to recover from the big mistake in the 75th minute, Platiní Sánchez throws Martha Jarrín and Aguas and when the penalty missed, there was a little bit missing, we had the skills that we were going to win that team commitment in the last ten minutes we scored the 22 goals minute 88 Marco Antonio Etcheverry grabs the ball in his field to change the history of Bolivian football even half of the field leaves for the moment Etcheverry this challenge the ball attention the marking

bolivia

goes crazy and even more so in the injury time when álvaro peñas her a historic victory could be the second for

bolivia

álvaro peña brazil lost classification for the first time in their history it was an immense joy an apotheosis bolivia came out even in the 'new york times' but for football reasons, not for other things, bolivia is in the world Even more, the chronicle is accompanied by a photo that shows joy to the Bolivian public.

The success literally goes around the world. The Bolivian national soccer team, which is led by the Spanish coach xabier azkargorta, has just achieved a historic success by beating Brazil by 2 goals to 0 in a qualifying match for the US world championship. The match against Brazil has changed everything, but it was only the beginning. Two weeks later, none other than Uruguay had to kneel. Uruguay, the team they had is not the best moment francescoli fonseca rubén sosa it in peace that is to say a spectacular team a great team that also succumbed to bolivia platiní sánchez echeverría and milton will come they sealed the also historic 31 second equal a week later the new victim of Bolivian power was Ecuador 1-0 with Ramallo's goal on August 22, 1993, the apotheosis of another seven goals for Venezuela, this time in peace and with masterpieces like this one from Elche, see Bolivia's balance sheet was credible, five games with full victories, 20 goals in favor and 2 in against impressive, by then I was already in a sense talking about Bolivia, the Bolivian national team has become the revelation team in the qualifying matches for the final phase of the World Cup.

Olivia is the leader of the group, playing very well, Bolivia loses by a score of 7 for 0 to Venezuela and virtually and while everyone is wondering who will stop Bolivia, the population of this place cheers for their soccer representative, which is what is missing now for the 90 World Cup, we have to keep working and we have to give Brazil next Sunday and let's see if we can get something there and definitely qualify there are three games left and one point will be enough but all three are away from home and starting with brazil who wants revenge ra and bebe tom wheeler and company have no mercy and in total a terrible 60 days letter two weeks later it is the Uruguayans who take revenge and win all one in Montevideo there is only one game left and Bolivia needs a point it will be in Guayaquil against Ecuador in a strange atmosphere with the field empty due to the punishment of the Ecuadorian fans their team The atmosphere was like playing a friendly match.

The Ecuadorians had nothing at stake. We risked our lives, but without fans, an agreement that I said, guys, we have suffered so much, we are on the verge of qualifying. We cannot throw away everything we have achieved for Bolivia. It was everything. or nothing and one minute before the break he gives the final blow that they take from you Ramallo they talk about a great play Ecuador ended up tying but Bolivia won the point they needed it was on September 19, 1993 three months had passed since the debacle against Chile and a new Bolivia with big team mentality, they entered into a World Cup, they had won it on the field for the first time in history until the referee's final whistle, pure joy is a lot for a country like Bolivia to qualify for the World Cup on its own merits because the truth is It has been hard, it has been hard for us and we are very happy, thank you all.

In reality, you can't imagine that. Nobody can imagine that. We are in the World Cup. I am still excited. It is a blessing from God. The one who didn't cry was because he didn't feel anything about the national team. These are things that leave a mark on you with the joy of saying, "I was given it."