Club Bolívar

Until well into the 1980s there was controversy regarding the date of creation of the institution. The year 1927 was considered accurate until it became clear that it had been founded in 1925, the year of the country's centenary.

The club was born on April 12, 1925, by a group of friends who had the idea of forming a social club whose objective was to practice sport, especially football. They met in a modest colonial center house of La Paz, specifically on Junín street and less than two blocks from Plaza Murillo, where it was decided to create the club with an unusual name, Bolívar, contrary to the usual names of Bolivian teams back then, as most of them were created with names in English. Names such as Franz Tamayo or Antonio José de Sucre were thought of, but in homage to the Liberator Simón Bolívar, the group decided for Bolívar.

Despite the fact that the founders had as a dominant passion for the practice of football, as was the style at the time, they decided to add the additional denominative of "musical literary club; that is, the club was originally founded with the name of "Club Atlético Literario Musical Bolívar" which was soon diluted by the strength of the football team and its distinctive achievements, being reduced only to Club Bolívar.

Don Humberto Bonifacio was in charge of the club's management on a provisional basis, until the first president was elected by a democratic election. The first president was Carlos Terán, who was accompanied by Ernesto Sainz, Héctor Salcedo, Rafael Navarro, and Felipe Gutiérrez.[5]

In 1927, two years after its founding, Club Bolívar officially enrolled in La Paz Fútbol Association. This would be the first time Bolivar participated in an official championship, where the club finished runner-up behind Nimbles Sport.

First emblem of the club

The first team that disputed the 1927 championship was made up of Walter Miranda, Enrique Tellería, Felipe Gutiérrez Nieto, Víctor Leclere, Carlos Terán, Germán Garnica, Roberto Segaline, Miguel Carreón, Luis Ernesto Sanz, and the captain Humberto Barreda. Alfredo Molina, Roberto Gómez and Carlos Álvarez were incorporated a year later.

The club's first international friendly match was played on June 3, 1927, against Coquimbo Unido of Chile in La Paz, losing 2–1.

Bolívar was the first Bolivian team to make an international tour. In December 1930 and January 1931, the team played five matches in Chile, becoming the first Bolivian team to play outside Bolivia.

In 1931 the tournament was fulfilled with poor performances by teams that did not have good youth divisions, limiting the championship to only four teams. That same year, on July 8, Bolívar obtained its first international victory against Gimnasia y Tiro de Salta, winning 2–1 in La Paz.

A fundamental event in this first part of the club's history occurred in 1932 when Bolívar achieved the first championship in its history played in two series. The captain of that Bolívar squad and one of the great South American players in history was center forward Mario Alborta, who was also captain of the Bolivia national team. The contest began on May 26, but had to be suspended for a month due to the events of the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay, more specifically the Battle of Boquerón, which was fought from September 7–29. The La Paz Football Association established that the location and score of the moment were recognized in the final table. For this reason, Club Bolívar was declared champion of that year.

In the following two years, 1933 and 1934, the tournaments were suspended until the end of the war event facing the country. After the war, the championship was restarted a year later, in 1935. The team was champion for the second time in 1937.

Bolívar was runner-up in 1938, and after that was champion for four consecutive years between 1939 and 1942, achieving the four-time championship. That team was led by players Walter Saavedra, Rojas, Romero, Plaza, Gutiérrez, and Garzón.

1947 is an important year for Bolívar and for Bolivian football, because of Víctor Agustín Ugarte's debut with the "celeste" jersey of Bolivar. The Tupiceño came to La Paz to test himself and from the first day, showed his quality. He made his debut against Ferroviario and that same year he debuted in the Bolivia national team. Many people consider him the best Bolivian player in history. He played as right-wing in the old 2–3–5 scheme.[6]

Bolívar won the first professional title of 1950.

In 1950, the Asociación de Fútbol de La Paz became professional, dividing its tournament into Primera "A" with the clubs already consolidated from amateurism and the amateur division. From 1954, the Asociación de Fútbol de La Paz, organized 2 parallel tournaments: The Campeonato Oficial del Fútbol de La Paz, where clubs from the capital city competed for the title of La Paz Champion, and the Integrated Championship, where clubs from La Paz, Cochabamba and Oruro, competed for the title of National Champion.[7]

Bolívar was the first champion from La Paz in the professional era. Under the presidency of Armando Gamarra and under the leadership of Víctor Agustín Ugarte, Mario Mena from Tarija and the participation of players like Argentine Ramón Guillermo Santos, it was crowned champion with 21 points.

Among the players who led the club to its first professional glory were: Conrado Kramer, Walter Vascones, Celestino Sandoval, Guillermo Baldellón, Arturo Miranda, Edgar Vargas, Fernando Sanzetenea, Benjamín Ugáz, Arlindo Puertas and Walter Orozco.

With José Fiorilo they won the 1953 title, and for the first time a team achieved the professional title undefeated with 11 victories and a whopping 40 goals in 14 matches.

What was then known as the "Vanguardia" of the 1953 professional championship champion team. From left to right: Montoya, Ugarte. Albornoz, Mena and M. Vargas.

He repeated the success by winning the integrated championship of 1956. That same year, Rodolfo Plaza Montero became the club's new manager and president. He is the only former player of the institution who was also president.

The unforgettable match of their international friendlies was played on January 14, 1956 in La Paz when they defeated Argentine club River Plate with a historic score of 7–2. Los Millonarios had high-profile players such as Carrizo, Rossi, Bayro, Vernazza, Sívori, Méndez, Ángel Labruna and Zárate.[8]

The Federación Boliviana de Fútbol, in view of the fact that the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) had organized the Campeonato Sudamericano de Clubes Campeones (later called Copa Libertadores) at the beginning of the year, decided to create a national championship under its tutelage, taking control of the national tournaments that had been under the administration of the AFLP. On October 1, 1960, the Torneo Mayor was created. Subsequently, the tournament was renamed "Simón Bolívar Cup", of a regionalized nature due to the difficulty of traveling at that time, with the final phase being played in the last 4 months of the year between the winners of their associations and regional tournaments.

Bolivar's worst season in its history was in 1964, when a poor campaign led to relegation in that season, against a newly promoted team, Universitario de La Paz, which beat Bolívar 2–1.[9] The club won the 1965 second division season undefeated and made an immeadiate return to the Primera Division. The following season, they won the Primera Division title and qualified to their first ever Copa Libertadores for the 1967 edition. Their first match in the Libertadores was on 12 March, a 1-0 win against 31 de Octubre. Their first away win was on 10 May, a 2-1 win against Independiente Santa Fe in Bogota. They eventually placed fourth out of six in their group with two wins four draws and four defeats.

In 1968, Bolívar won its first title under the presidency of Mario Mercado Vaca Guzmán. In 1976 they won their last title before the league era. On 21 January 1995, Mario Mercado died when his private jet crashed in Oruro en route to Sucre. Aside from football, he was also mayor of the city of La Paz. Under his management, Estadio Hernando Siles was renovated and Estadio Libertador, the club's reserve stadium, was opened in January 1976.[10]

In 1978 they won their first title after the professional league era began, finishing first in both the first and second stages before beating Wilstermann 1–0 in the final match.

Bolívar's historic victory against River Plate (7–2) in January 1956

Notable achievements during this era were reaching the 1986 Copa Libertadores semi-finals, and winning back-to-back league titles in 1987 and 1988, as well as 1991 and 1992, and 1996 and 1997.

In the early 2000s, Mauro Cuellar assumed the presidency of Bolivar.

In 2002, Bolivar reached the semi-finals of the inaugural edition of the Copa Sudamericana, their second ever qualification to a semi-final of a continental competition. They began their campaign by beating another Bolivian club, Oriente Petrolero, over two legs. In the second round, they beat Club Libertad, one of the biggest clubs in Paraguay. In the first leg of the quarter-finals against Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, Bolivar won 4-1 at home. Bolivar lost the second leg in La Plata 2-0, but qualified to the semi finals 4-3 on aggregate. In the semifinals they were paired with another Argentine club, San Lorenzo. Bolivar won the first leg in La Paz 2-1, but in Buenos Aires San Lorenzo won 4-2 and eliminated Bolivar 5-4 on aggregate. Although Bolivar were eliminated, they gained the respect of many, because San Lorenzo later won the competition and Bolivar was one of the few clubs to beat the champion.

Bolivar reached the finals of the 2004 Copa Sudamericana, losing to Boca Juniors 2–1 on aggregate.[11][12] However, despite the club's sporting achievements, it fell into a deep financial crisis, nearly disappearing with debts in excess of US$5 million, until Bolivian millionaire Marcelo Claure took over the club in September 2008 through BAISA, a subsidiary company owned by Claure. BAISA owns the right to operate the club for 20 years and has projects to win a continental title, as well as a full stadium and training center by the club's 100th anniversary.[13][14]

In 2014, the team reached the Copa Libertadores semi-finals, being eliminated by Argentine club San Lorenzo 5–1 on aggregate, with a 5–0 loss in Buenos Aires but with a 1–0 win in the second leg at home.[15][16] In 2017, Bolivar won both Apertura and Clausura tournaments that year, therefore completing a "bicampeonato" (two-time consecutive championship). This was their first "bicampeonato" in the modern Apertura-Clausura format.[17]

In January 2021, Club Bolivar was announced as the first Partner Club of City Football Group.[18][19] Also in January 2021, the club's "Plan Centenario" was announced, which is a five-year plan to construct an academy, open the club's ownership to fans, and win a "tricampeonato" (three-time consecutive championship) or reach a CONMEBOL final, all by 2025, the club's centenary year.[20]

Bolivar's traditional home colors are light blue, traditional away colors are dark blue or white.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 33 DF  BOL Christian Osinaga (on loan from Santos) 36 DF  BOL Clemilson da Silva 37 MF  BOL Maykool Tellez 40 MF  BOL José Peralta 41 MF  BOL Jhair Cordova 43 DF  BOL Javier Guerra

No. Pos. Nation Player 44 MF  BOL Abel Chávez 45 FW  BOL Leonardo Arana 46 MF  BOL Reyes Camacho 48 DF  BOL Alejandro Polo 51 FW  BOL Alexis Gómez

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  BOL Juan Magallanes (at Thisted until 31 December 2022) — MF  BOL Jhon Velásquez (at Thisted until 31 December 2022)