Bolivia celebrates 60 years of the 1963 South American title – 03/30/2023 – Sport

Bolivia scored five goals in Brazil and became continental champions.

It’s been a while, and the conquest took place under very specific conditions. But, 60 years later, while eagerly trying to demonstrate some sporting strength and hoping to return to the World Cup, the country celebrates the anniversary of the day it beat the world’s two-time champions and lifted a trophy.

On March 31, 1963, led by a native of Rio de Janeiro, the Alviverde team defeated the Brazilian team by 5-4 to reach the greatest –since the only– title in its history. In La Paz, he knew glory in the South American Championship, now called Copa America.

“Bolivia re-edited its last days managing to impose its greatest volume of game”, reported the Folha de S.Paulo. “The local team throughout the course of the match was superior.”

It was the final round of the tournament, played by seven teams in a running points system. Brazil, with a very alternative formation, no longer had a chance of taking the cup, but the leader Bolivia was still threatened by Paraguay and needed the victory to be champion without depending on a stumbling block from the rival.

At the end of the first half, the score at the Hernando Siles stadium was 2-2, goals by Ugarte and Camacho for the hosts, Marco Antônio and Almir for the visitors. Ugarte and García put the hosts ahead, but two goals from Flávio evened the scoreboard.

In the 41st minute of the final stage, Alcócer surpassed goalkeeper Silas. The party is still remembered as the great moment of Bolivian football, immortalizing the image of Ugarte –considered the greatest in the country’s history, alongside Etcheverry– carried on the shoulders of fans.

It mattered little –and it doesn’t matter– to the Bolivians that the competition was not played at a high level. Even because with a high level, the owners of the house would hardly have great chances. Not at altitude.

The more than 3,600 m of La Paz were one of the reasons for holding an empty championship. Uruguay preferred not to face the adverse situation. Argentina and Brazil sent teams full of unknown players. Chile, for geopolitical reasons, did not play.

In the case of the Brazilian formation, the team had nothing to do with the one that a year earlier, in Chile, had won the second world championship. The base was the selection of Minas Gerais, winner of the old Brazilian Championship of state selections, completed by athletes like Amauri, from Comercial, Almir, from Taubaté, and Altamiro, from São Cristóvão.

“In no way can the Brazilian squad be considered second-rate,” said coach Aymoré Moreira, denying the obvious.

The campaign started with a 1-0 win over Peru and a 5-1 thrashing of Colombia. A Sheetexcited, even named the selection as “the favorite of the tournament”, but the tone soon changed.

Brazil took 2-0 from Paraguay and lost 3-0 to Argentina, with the right to a slapstick-type goal. “Marcial, when taking a goal kick, sent the ball to the back of Mário Tito; the leather was left for Rodríguez, who had no difficulty in scoring”, described the March 16 edition of the newspaper.

At the end of the campaign, which also had a 2-2 draw with Ecuador and the defeat to Bolivia, there was criticism for Aymoré. “The national team that competed in the South American Championship in Bolivia was a complete disappointment”, wrote A. Mendes. “The technical direction, to show its presence in the selection, exceeded itself in player substitutions, in alterations, and the result is there”, he added, in a text entitled “The lesson of Bolivia”.

A Bolivia that played most of its games in La Paz –Cochabamba was the other venue for the event– and began its trajectory in a long-suffering 4-4 ​​draw with Ecuador. Afterwards, always with difficulty, they beat Colombia (2 to 1), Peru (3 to 2), Paraguay (2 to 0) and Argentina (3 to 2) until they found Brazil and confirmed the unforgettable title, always remembered by figures of the sport and politics in the country, like Evo Morales.

The coach was Danilo Alvim, referred to in Bolivian newspapers as Danilo Albín. Danilo was a starter for Brazil in the 1950 World Cup, a midfielder (today midfielder) who lived his best moments as a player at Vasco. He was born in 1920 in Rio de Janeiro, where he died in 1996. Between one event and another, he left his name in the history of Bolivia.

The success was never replicated, although there were good times. In 1993, under the command of the Spaniard Xavier Azkargorta, the alviverde team obtained a historic classification for the following year’s World Cup.

It was the generation of Baldivieso and Etcheverry, who also made noise at the 1997 Copa América, another one played in Bolivia. The hosts went to the final, held on the same stage as the 1963 triumph, but the rematch was won by Brazil, led by Zagallo: 3-1, goals by Edmundo, Ronaldo and Zé Roberto. Erwin Sánchez scored for Bolivia, which lost momentum with the end of that generation and never went to the World Cup again.

In the Qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, the team ranked ninth among the ten applicants from South America. Azkargorta returned in 2012, without success, and offered again in 2022, but attempts to lift Bolivian football have been unsuccessful, even in club disputes – none went to the knockout rounds of the Copa Libertadores or Copa Sudamericana in 2022.

In the most recent “Fifa date”, reserved for international matches, the Bolivian team lost 1-0 to Uzbekistan and beat Saudi Arabia 2-1, both duels in Saudi Arabia.

The national team today is led by Argentine Gustavo Costas and hopes to return to play in the World Cup. The next one, in 2026, will be the first with 48 teams –16 more than in 2022–, and South America will have six direct spots plus one in the play-offs.

It could be a good chance for the current owners of the 82nd place in the Fifa ranking (International Football Federation). That even today have a goal in the history of the Cups, scored by Erwin Sánchez in 1994. And a title in all of history itself, by the feet of Blacut, Alcócer and Ugarte. Under the direction of Danilo.