Bolivia at the Copa América

Scene from the opening match of the 2011 Copa América against Argentina which ended in a 1–1 draw.

Ramiro Blacut (here in 2004) was the player of the tournament in 1963. Playing in Argentina at the time, he was one of only two Bolivian squad members who played outside of Bolivia.

The Copa América is South America's major tournament in senior men's football and determines the continental champion. Until 1967, the tournament was known as South American Championship. It is the oldest continental championship in the world with its first edition held in 1916.

Bolivia participated for the first time in 1926, but it took 23 years (26 matches) until their first victory.

1963 was a special year for Bolivia in tournament history. The country not only hosted the South American Championship for the first time. The two host cities, Cochabamba and La Paz, both lie in Andean valleys and are at a much higher altitude than large parts of the continent. With the thin air as a major home advantage, Bolivia won the tournament unbeaten and earned their first and only international title. Forward Ramiro Blacut is the only Bolivian to be awarded an individual trophy when he was honoured as best player of the tournament that same year.

With a notable exception in 1997, when Bolivia reached the final in their second-ever home tournament, the team has been hugely unsuccessful in the past decades. From 1999 to 2021, they only won a single match (3–2 vs Ecuador in 2015).

Overall record

Bolivia missed out on the first nine South American championships (1916–1925) because the FBF was only founded in 1926.

South American Championship / Copa América record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1916	Not a CONMEBOL member
1917
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926	Fifth place	5th	4	0	0	4	2	24	Squad
1927	Fourth place	4th	3	0	0	3	3	19	Squad
1929	Did not participate
1935
1937
1939
1941
1942
1945	Sixth place	6th	6	0	2	4	3	16	Squad
1946	Sixth place	6th	5	0	0	5	4	23	Squad
1947	Seventh place	7th	7	0	2	5	6	21	Squad
1949	Fourth place	4th	7	4	0	3	13	24	Squad
1953	Sixth place	6th	6	1	1	4	6	15	Squad
1955	Did not participate
1956
1957
1959	Seventh place	7th	6	0	1	5	4	23	Squad
1959	Withdrew
1963	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	19	13	Squad
1967	Sixth place	6th	5	0	1	4	0	9	Squad
1975	Group stage	8th	4	1	0	3	3	9	Squad
1979	Group stage	6th	4	2	0	2	4	7	Squad
1983	Group stage	8th	4	0	2	2	4	6	Squad
1987	Group stage	7th	2	0	1	1	0	2	Squad
1989	Group stage	9th	4	0	2	2	0	8	Squad
1991	Group stage	9th	4	0	2	2	2	7	Squad
1993	Group stage	10th	3	0	2	1	1	2	Squad
1995	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	5	6	Squad
1997	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	0	1	10	5	Squad
1999	Group stage	9th	3	0	2	1	1	2	Squad
2001	Group stage	11th	3	0	0	3	0	7	Squad
2004	Group stage	9th	3	0	2	1	3	4	Squad
2007	Group stage	10th	3	0	2	1	4	5	Squad
2011	Group stage	12th	3	0	1	2	1	5	Squad
2015	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	4	10	Squad
2016	Group stage	14th	3	0	0	3	2	7	Squad
2019	Group stage	12th	3	0	0	3	2	9	Squad
2021	Group stage	10th	4	0	0	4	2	10	Squad
2024	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	1	10	Squad
Total	1 Title	29/48	122	20	26	76	109	308	—

1963 South American Championship

Bolivia's 1963 squad which won the title at their first home tournament.

Bolivia played their first match of the tournament against Ecuador. After they had given away an early 2–0 leading to a 2–4 deficit after 50 minutes, the match ended in a 4–4 draw. Subsequently, the Bolivian hosts won their matches against Colombia (2–1), Peru (3–2), Paraguay (2–0) and Argentina (3–2).

The table after five out of six match days looked as follows.

Position	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Bolivia	5	4	1	0	14	9	+5	9
2	Paraguay	5	4	0	1	12	6	+6	8
3	Argentina	5	3	0	2	14	9	+5	6
4	Brazil	5	2	1	2	8	8	+0	5
5	Peru	6	2	1	3	8	11	−3	5
6	Ecuador	5	0	2	3	10	15	−5	2
7	Colombia	5	0	1	4	7	15	−8	1

Still to play: Ecuador - Colombia, Argentina - Paraguay, Bolivia - Brazil

Because a victory gave two points at the time, only Paraguay was able to put pressure on Bolivia on the last day of the tournament. In case of equal points, a play-off would have been held. In order to secure the title, Bolivia would have to earn at least as many points in their match against Brazil as Paraguay would in their match against Argentina.

The Paraguay match in La Paz ended 1–1, which meant Bolivia also needed at least a draw.

Match details

31 March 1963

Bolivia	5–4	Brazil
Ugarte 15', 58' Camacho 25' García 62' Alcócer 86'	Report	Marco Antônio 26' Almir 28' Flávio 63', 66'

Estadio Félix Capriles, Cochabamba

Attendance: 25,000

Referee: Ovidio Orrego ( Colombia)

GK Arturo López DF Roberto Cainzo DF Eduardo Espinoza MF Máximo Ramírez MF Wilfredo Camacho MF Eulogio Vargas FW Ramiro Blacut FW Máximo Alcócer FW Víctor Ugarte FW Ausberto García FW Fortunato Castillo Manager: Danilo Alvim

GK Silas DF Cláudio Danni DF Jorge MF Procópio MF Geraldino MF Hilton Vaccari FW Tião FW Almir FW Flávio FW Marco Antônio FW Oswaldo Substitutions: DF Massinha Manager: Aymoré Moreira

In spite of Brazil equalizing a two-goal lead twice, Bolivia secured the victory and the tournament title, two points ahead of Paraguay.

Record by opponent

Bolivia's highest victory at a Copa América is a 4–0 win against Colombia in 1949. A 1–10 defeat against Brazil in the same tournament, along with a 0–9 defeat against Uruguay at the 1927 edition, are Bolivia's highest defeats of all time.

Copa América matches (by team)
Opponent	W	D	L	Pld	GF	GA
Argentina	2	2	12	16	10	50
Brazil	2	0	9	11	13	42
Chile	2	2	11*	15	17	49
Colombia	3	5	4	12	14	14
Costa Rica	0	0	2	2	0	6
Ecuador	2	5	1	8	12	13
Honduras	0	0	1	1	0	2
Japan	0	1	0	1	1	1
Mexico	1	2	0	3	3	1
Panama	0	0	2	2	2	5
Paraguay	1	2	8	11	8	31
Peru	3	4	9	16	17	28
United States	1	0	1	2	1	2
Uruguay	2	1	14	17	6	55
Venezuela	1	2	2	5	5	9
Total	20	26	76	122	109	308

* Includes a 2–2 draw awarded to Chile in 1953.

Record players

Rank	Player	Matches	Tournaments
1	Víctor Ugarte	30	1947, 1949, 1953, 1959 and 1963
2	José Bustamante	24	1945, 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1953
3	Alberto Achá	23	1945, 1946, 1947 and 1949
	Carlos Borja	23	1979, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1995
5	José Milton Melgar	22	1993, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997
6	Marco Etcheverry	21	1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999
7	Vicente Arraya	20	1945, 1946, 1947 and 1949
8	Julio César Baldivieso	19	1991, 1993, 1995, 1997 and 2001
	Juan Manuel Peña	19	1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2007
10	Severo Orgaz	17	1945, 1946 and 1947
	Marco Sandy	17	1993, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2001

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Tournaments (goals)
1	Víctor Ugarte	9	1949 (5), 1953 (2), 1963 (2)
2	Máximo Alcócer	7	1959 (2), 1963 (5)
3	Benigno Gutiérrez	5	1947 (2) and 1949 (3)
	Erwin Sánchez	5	1991 (1), 1997 (3) and 1999 (1)
5	Ausberto García	4	1959 (1) and 1963 (3)
	Wilfredo Camacho	4	1963
	Marco Etcheverry	4	1993 (1), 1995 (1) and 1997 (2)
8	Zenón González	3	1945, 1946 and 1947
	Ricardo Alcón	3	1953 (2) and 1959 (1)
	Fortunato Castillo	3	1963
	Ovidio Mezza	3	1975
	Jaime Moreno	3	1997 (1) and 2007 (2)
	Marcelo Moreno	3	2015 (2) and 2019 (1)

Awards and records

Team Awards

• Champions 1x (1963)
• Second Place 1x (1997)

Individual Awards

• MVP 1963: Ramiro Blacut

Team Records

• Victory with highest number of goals conceded (5–4 vs Brazil, 31 March 1963. Tied with Brazil 6–4 Chile in 1937).
• Highest draw (4–4 vs Ecuador, 10 March 1963)

See also

• Bolivia at the FIFA World Cup

External links

• RSSSF archives and results
• Soccerway database