A history of Bolivian football: World Cups, the 1963 Copa América and the big clubs

Bolivia is not a football powerhouse, but its history has unique moments: a continental title on home soil, a World Cup qualification that stopped the whole country and clubs with huge fan bases. Here are the highlights.

Bolivia's three World Cups

Uruguay 1930

Bolivia was one of the 13 nations at the first World Cup in history. It played two matches, against Yugoslavia and Brazil, and lost both 4-0. It was the start of its international history.

Brazil 1950

After several other teams withdrew, Bolivia travelled to the 1950 World Cup and ended up in a two-team group with Uruguay. It lost 8-0 to the side that, days later, would be crowned champion in the famous Maracanazo.

USA 1994

This is Bolivian football's great qualification. In the 1993 qualifiers, Bolivia beat Brazil 2-0 in La Paz, Brazil's first ever defeat in World Cup qualifying. With a generation led by Marco "El Diablo" Etcheverry, Erwin "Platini" Sánchez and coach Xabier Azkargorta, Bolivia returned to the World Cup 44 years later.

At the tournament it played the opening match against reigning champions Germany and lost 1-0. It then drew 0-0 with South Korea and lost 3-1 to Spain. Erwin Sánchez's goal in that match was Bolivia's first ever at a World Cup.

Champions of South America in 1963

The national team's biggest title came at the 1963 Copa América (then the South American Championship), played in Bolivia. The team finished unbeaten and won its last match 5-4 against Brazil, a result that is still a source of pride. Bolivia hosted again in 1997 and that time reached the final, losing 3-1 to Brazil.

The clubs that shaped history

Bolívar

Founded in 1925 in La Paz, it is the club with the most league titles in the country. Internationally it reached the 2004 Copa Sudamericana final, lost to Boca Juniors, and the Copa Libertadores semi-finals in 2014.

The Strongest

Founded in 1908, it is one of the oldest Bolivian clubs still active. Its rivalry with Bolívar is the Clásico paceño, the biggest match in the country. It plays in yellow and black and is nicknamed "the Tiger".

Jorge Wilstermann

Cochabamba's most popular club. In the 2017 Copa Libertadores it reached the quarter-finals, one of the best recent runs by a Bolivian club in the competition.

Oriente Petrolero and Blooming

The two big clubs of Santa Cruz de la Sierra contest the Clásico cruceño. Oriente was founded in 1955 and Blooming in 1946, and both have won several national titles.

Other important names

San José from Oruro, Always Ready (now based in El Alto), Real Potosí, Aurora and Nacional Potosí complete a league with teams spread across the country and at very different altitudes, from the Santa Cruz lowlands to more than 4,000 metres.

National team stars

• Marco Etcheverry: the great idol of the nineties, key in the 1994 qualification and later in MLS.
• Erwin Sánchez: scorer of Bolivia's first World Cup goal and a long-time player for Benfica and Boavista.
• Marcelo Moreno Martins: the Bolivian national team's all-time top scorer.
• Carlos Lampe: the team's goalkeeper for many years, remembered for great qualifying performances.

Bolivia in GolDraft

GolDraft includes the Bolivian national team and the clubs of the División Profesional, with updated squads. You can set Bolivia as your favourite team in the Cup Simulator, play the Clásico paceño in the Live Match or start your Legend Mode career at a Bolivian club and dream of moving to Europe.