How Inter made history by beating Bolívar 3.6 kilometers above sea level

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The altitude and the almost unprecedented feat obtained by the Colorado team are two among the many dramatic aspects that marked the Libertadores quarterfinal game

By taking a big step towards the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores last Tuesday night (22), Internacional became the third club in Brazil to beat Bolívar at the home of the Bolivian team, in La Paz. world, the city is at an altitude of 3,600 meters.

The height and almost uniqueness of the feat achieved by the Colorado team are two among the many dramatic aspects that marked the Libertadores quarterfinal game. Now, it is enough for Inter to draw the return game, in Beira-Rio, to qualify for the semifinal. If they advance, Colorado will face Fluminense or Paraguayan Olimpia. Choose your bookmaker at SDA and make your predictions about Inter’s next matches, both in Libertadores and in Série A of the Brazilian Championship.

Altitude is a powerful weapon for Bolívar in La Paz – and for so many other teams based high in the mountains along the Andes. It is impossible for Brazilian players not to feel the difference in atmospheric pressure when entering the field at an altitude of more than three kilometers above sea level.

The high height means that there is less air in the Earth’s atmosphere above the players, which lowers the atmospheric pressure and makes the air thinner. With this, breathing becomes more difficult, which decreases the performance of athletes. It is common for players to feel, in addition to shortness of breath, headache, retching and even nosebleeds. Therefore, it is common for teams not accustomed to altitude to use oxygen balloons before and after games, and also during intervals.

In addition to physiological effects, altitude affects the behavior of objects. In football, the ball, for example, runs much more lightly.

Before Inter, only two other teams in Brazil had beaten Bolívar in La Paz. Both cases happened for Libertadores – and both victorious teams ended up being champions of the continental cup. The first was Grêmio, Inter’s arch-rivals, who beat Bolívar 2-1 in 1983. It took 37 years for the feat to be repeated, this time by the hands of Palmeiras, in 2020, by the same score.

Another ten Bolívar games against Brazilian clubs in La Paz ended in victory for the Bolivian team. Four matches were drawn. For Inter, the victory in a game at challenging altitudes was the first since 2011, when they beat Jorge Wilstermann in Cochabamba, also in Bolivia.

After this week’s match, Inter players appeared celebrating the victory while receiving oxygen in the locker room of the Hernando Siles stadium, home of Bolívar.

More on Inter’s victory

Coach Eduardo Coudet, promoted a change of scheme to play at altitude, playing with 3 defenders, something that the team had not done until that game, and adopting a much more defensive posture, which is very different from the style of the coach who likes to play with pressure marking and offensive ball possession.

The strategy worked because Bolivar, who that year had already won at home 3×1 against Palmeiras and 3×1 against Athletico Paranaense, even with a high volume of play and aerial balls, failed to score a goal. With two great saves by goalkeeper Sergio Rochet and 2 balls on the crossbar, the Colorado team achieved what they set out to do, which was not conceding a single goal.

What ended with a golden key was that, in addition to being able to defend itself as proposed, Inter managed, in an escape from Alan Patrick and Enner Valencia, to score their goal and manage to take Porto Alegre a very important advantage.

The victory energized the Colorado crowd, as in addition to qualifying against River Plate on a historic night in Porto Alegre and with this mature performance and the positive result at altitude, the club is starting to become one of the favorites for the title, even if there are still great teams in the competition like the Brazilians Fluminense and Palmeiras, in addition to the Argentinean Boca Juniors.

The return game between Inter and Bolívar takes place at the Beira Rio stadium and is scheduled for this Tuesday (29), at 7 pm.

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