The numbers and phrases painted on the bogus turf subsequent to the pitch at Estadio Municipal de El Alto, in Bolivia’s highest and fastest-growing metropolis, are a supply of satisfaction for the locals. They additionally function a warning to opponents.
“4150 MTS ALT. SE JUEGA DONDE SE VIVE.”
“We play where we live” is the slogan subsequent to the 4 figures that lay naked what a unprecedented location that is for a soccer stadium. At 4,150 metres above sea stage, the brand new house of the Bolivian nationwide workforce in El Alto is about as difficult because it will get when it comes to enjoying at altitude.
Venezuela had been the primary worldwide workforce to go to the stadium in September, in a World Cup qualifier, and it says all the pieces in regards to the difficulties that awaited their gamers that they spent the times main up to the sport practising respiratory workouts and acclimatising to the low air strain through the use of hyperbaric chambers.
Venezuela misplaced 4-0.
Next up to face Bolivia in El Alto are Colombia on Thursday October 10 — a workforce which have misplaced solely as soon as (the 2024 Copa America ultimate to Argentina) since February 2022.
Bolivia being a troublesome place to play soccer is, in fact, nothing new. In his ebook ¡Golazo!: A History of Latin American Football, Andreas Campomar writes about how “Bolivian football has created a fortress from the thin air of the Andes” for years, making the nation formidable opponents on house soil and contributing to some exceptional outcomes, most notably a 6-1 victory over Argentina in 2009.
Diego Maradona, Argentina’s coach, was crestfallen. “Every goal was like a stab in my heart,” he mentioned.
As for his gamers’ lungs, Maradona refused to use the excessive altitude in La Paz — 3,660m — as an excuse, which was in all probability sensible contemplating he had performed in the identical stadium a yr earlier than, on the age of 47, to present his assist for Bolivia after FIFA launched a ban in 2007 on worldwide matches greater than 2,750m above sea stage.
FIFA’s reasoning on the time was that prime altitude was a possible well being hazard for gamers and distorted honest competitors — one thing Bolivia strongly denied. Evo Morales, the Bolivia president on the time, railed in opposition to what he described as “football apartheid”.
The ban was quickly lifted and, ultimately, La Paz may host worldwide matches once more, albeit the complaints from some international locations — Brazil specifically — have by no means actually gone away.
After a goalless draw on the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz in 2017, the Brazilian star Neymar posted a picture on Instagram that went viral. “Inhuman to play in these conditions. Pitch, altitude, ball… everything is bad,” he wrote. The accompanying photograph confirmed Neymar and his Brazil team-mates sporting oxygen masks on a settee and armchairs, in full package, on the finish of the sport. It was a weird scene.
Now, seven years on, Bolivia have taken issues a step additional by selecting to play video games in El Alto; actually, about 1,840 steps additional if we’re counting in ft. El Alto’s elevation is 560m increased than La Paz — a metropolis the place vacationers typically want days, and typically even weeks, to adapt to the thinner air that forces their lungs to work more durable to ship oxygen to the bloodstream.
All of which makes you surprise how the opposition gamers deal with enjoying 90 minutes in El Alto — and the extent to which Bolivia stand to acquire from what has been described by the federation as a trial.
“Soccer is made of details. It does not mean that with this (changing stadiums) we are going to win,” Oscar Villegas, the Bolivia coach, told the Associated Press before the Venezuela game. “We try to handle particulars that may permit us to be simpler.
Oscar Villegas’ Bolivia aspect have three factors from six World Cup qualifying matches (Aizar Raldes/AFP through Getty Images)
“In El Alto, we are going to try to be as intense as possible and to let them know that they are on a new pitch where we have been unbeatable (a reference to Bolivian club teams playing at the stadium in international competitions such as the Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana).
“The psychological and emotional aspect also plays a role. It is something that is going to help us a lot.”
Mindful that the nationwide workforce had been in a state of turmoil earlier than the Venezuela win — they'd misplaced 5 of their six World Cup qualification video games, leaving them second from backside within the group, and likewise suffered three straight defeats on the Copa America in June — it's onerous not to be cynical in regards to the motivation behind the Bolivian Football Federation’s determination to play matches in El Alto, the place the stadium capability is considerably decrease than in La Paz. In quick, it smacks of desperation.
An different view can be that Bolivia are simply benefiting from their pure habitat and that it’s no totally different to a nation that usually performs video games in excessive warmth or sub-zero temperatures.
“I don’t think it’s an important aspect for Bolivia to win — I see it a different way,” Marco Etcheverry, who is taken into account considered one of Bolivia’s biggest footballers, instructed The Athletic earlier than the Venezuela win.
“Bolivia is going through a difficult moment in terms of players, directors — they have lots and lots of problems now. The organisation that defends the players — the union — isn’t in dialogue with the directors. It’s very bad.
“They’ve appointed a coach who is a great friend of mine and who I have a special affection for, to withstand people so that they don’t get too angry because they wanted a Bolivian coach. I think they did it (moving games to El Alto) more to pacify the fans. I think they think they will win in El Alto — hopefully, they do. But I don’t think it will be a great advantage for Bolivia.”
How a lot enjoying at excessive altitudes has helped Bolivia through the years has lengthy been a matter of debate. There is a college of thought amongst some in Bolivia that every one the speak about altitude gave the workforce a psychological edge over opponents greater than the rest and that the doable bodily results, which might embody nausea, complications, fatigue and vomiting, are sometimes overplayed.
What we are able to say for positive is that Bolivia have been a totally totally different proposition on house soil. Thirteen of their 15 factors within the 2022 World Cup qualifiers had been picked up in Bolivia and it was 14 within the earlier marketing campaign, which included one other win over Argentina (2-0).
In truth, in all probability the easiest way to illustrate the distinction enjoying at house makes to Bolivia is by taking a look at their away type. Their spectacular 2-1 win away to Chile in September was solely their second aggressive victory outdoors of the nation previously 28 years.
For any groups travelling to Bolivia, adaptation is seen as key. Mario Kempes, a World Cup winner with Argentina, tells a narrative about how the nationwide workforce coach Omar Sivori determined to decide two completely totally different groups to face Bolivia at house and away in 1973, when the fixtures had been solely 14 days aside, so as to permit one set of gamers to acclimatize to excessive altitude. Kempes was within the so-called ghost workforce that received 1-0 in Bolivia.
“It is very hard to play at high altitude, you feel it. But it’s doable,” Kempes instructed The New York Times in 2009. “We went 15 days before to prepare. It was the right way. You do need extra time. But today, there is very little time.
“Yes, some countries have altitude on their side, but if you don’t have the players, it really is not an advantage.”
That chimes with Etcheverry’s views. “I think the altitude myth used to be a source of fear, but now with technology, you can do studies of everything — from what you have to eat to counteract the altitude, to the time at which you need to drink water, what quality of food you need, the rest, and specific training. Now teams go there (to Bolivia) and have fewer problems than previous times because managers are prepared.”
That will not be to say there aren't any bodily results from enjoying at excessive altitudes. “The recovery is what’s slower,” explains Etcheverry. “It doesn’t stop you from running: you do everything the same. The only problem is when you make an effort, your recovery isn’t as quick. If there’s a move in which you make a big effort, you run 30m and put in a cross — you can do that. But running back and taking a breath is what’s difficult. That’s what costs you.”
Then there's the bizarre behaviour of the ball to consider. When Daniel Passarella was answerable for Argentina, they misplaced an away sport in opposition to Ecuador in 1996 in Quito, a metropolis greater than 2,800m above sea stage, prompting the coach to make a remark that has by no means been forgotten. “En la altura la pelota no dobla,” Passarella mentioned afterwards.
So was Passarella proper — is it true that the ball doesn’t bend at altitude or, on the very least, behaves in a different way?
Etcheverry smiles. “The speed, the time, the space the ball covers is different, that’s true,” he says.
“It goes faster,” Etcheverry provides, gesturing along with his hand to present the sudden change in trajectory. “It’s like the ball goes in a straight line, let’s say, and it doesn’t have that downward curve at the end when it falls. It falls (immediately), which is complicated for goalkeepers.”
Claudio Taffarel, the previous Brazil goalkeeper, may hardly blame altitude for Etcheverry’s shot from an acute angle pinballing between his legs and over the road in 1993, when Bolivia inflicted a well-known 2-0 defeat over the workforce who would go on to win the World Cup 12 months later.
Bolivia certified for the World Cup finals within the United States in 1994, however they haven't managed to return to that stage since. Their journey to attempt to put that proper continues within the unlikely environs of El Alto tonight.
(Top photograph: Aizar Raldes/AFP through Getty Images)
