Copa America 2015 Preview: Bolivia
Overview
In stark contrast to the altitude of La Paz, expectations are low for Bolivia at the Copa America.
Mired in a political climate that continues to stunt its growth, Bolivian football is in a dark place as it attempts to return to its glory days of the 1990s, when El Verde qualified for the 1994 World Cup and subsequently reached the final of the 1997 Copa America on home soil.
For an idea of how politics have limited Bolivia's ability to progress, look no further than the appointment of manager Mauricio Soria.
Soria took charge of the national team on a caretaker basis in October and earned a positive result in his debut. It was expected that he would quickly be appointed as Bolivia's permanent manager.
However, after he allegedly referred to supporters of Real Potosi, a club from the Andes, in derogatory terms, the Federacion Boliviana de Futbol (FBF) held off on officially appointing him until the heat died down in January.
The FBF also attempted to call off a friendly in November as a result of the turmoil, an incomprehensible step given that Bolivia were in desperate need of warmup games.
Against this backdrop - a lesson in how not to prepare for a competition - El Verde will look to replicate the success of Club Bolivar in the 2014 Copa Libertadores and prove that Bolivian football is indeed on the right track.
And it could happen. After all, one win can be enough to emerge from the group stage at the Copa America.
Group Stage Schedule
| Date | Match | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 - 06 - 12 | Mexico vs. Bolivia | 20:30 | Estadio Sausalito |
| 2015 - 06 - 15 | Ecuador vs. Bolivia | 18:00 | Estadio Elias Figueroa Brander |
| 2015 - 06 - 19 | Chile vs. Bolivia | 20:30 | Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos |
All times are listed in local time
Projected Starting XI
Romel Quinonez; Ronald Raldes, Ronald Eguino, Edward Zenteno, Alejandro Morales; Sebastian Gamarra, Danny Bejarano; Martin Smedberg-Dalence, Pablo Escobar, Damian Lizio; Marcelo Martins Moreno
Following years and years of losing under a defensive approach, a proactive Soria is keen to implement an offensive strategy at the Copa America. It might seem like an insane suggestion given Bolivia's limited pool of talent in front of goal, but Soria is aware that sitting back and defending isn't getting the national team anywhere.
El Capitan
Wearing the captain's armband for Bolivia will be Ronald Raldes, the 35-year-old right-back who is a staple of El Verde's backline.
Raldes was included in Soria's Copa America squad despite suffering a left shoulder injury at the beginning of May that threatened to rule him out. Uncertainty surrounds the veteran's fitness level, but he'll feature in Bolivia's starting XI each and every game if he's fit to play.
His experience is indispensable to a national team that's sick and tired of being the joke of South American football, and the Copa America will provide Raldes with one of his last chances to make an impact on the international stage.
The Star
The long-haired Marcelo Moreno Martins is at the heart of the attacking style that Soria is looking to inject into Bolivia.
A poor man's Gabriel Batistuta, Martins lacks the speed that would ever allow him to become a prolific forward. However, he compensates in other areas, capable of featuring alone up top and excellent at linking up the play.
When Bolivia earned a jaw-dropping 6-1 win versus Argentina in a 2010 World Cup qualifier, a match that arguably marks El Verde's last major achievement, Martins was the one to open the floodgates with an early goal. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, Bolivia's most realistic shot of finding the back of the net at the Copa America, and will be relied upon heavily.
The Young Gun
It's bizarre. At only 24 years of age, Alejandro Chumacero is somehow already being written off.
A modern deep-lying midfielder who also contributes an enormous amount in attack, Chumacero began to turn heads in 2013, and was viewed as the next big thing in Bolivian football.
However, he struggled to make strides in 2014, and his regression means he now finds himself on the fringes of Bolivia's Copa America squad. In fact, there are no clear indications that the diminutive figure will even feature at the competition.
One can only hope he gets a chance to take the pitch, as Chumacero is far from a finished product, and is more than capable of triumphantly returning to Bolivia's starting XI and triggering a paradigm shift in El Verde.
Burning Questions
- Having played only one match in 2015, is Bolivia prepared?
- Will Mauricio Soria's desire for an attacking brand of football prove to be revolutionary or catastrophic?
- Can Marcelo Martins Moreno generate the goals that have eluded Bolivia in recent World Cup qualifying campaigns?
Odds and Ends
Nickname: El Verde
Most caps: Luis Cristaldo, Marco Sandy (93)
Top scorer: Joaquin Botero (20)
Best Copa America result: Champions (1963)