Bolivia. The usual South American 2-staged championship, ending in 1987, but counted as 1986. The 15-team top league was divided into two groups in both stages, but what followed was different. The opening round, played in the fall of 1986 – that is spring in South America – ended with the top 2 teams of each groups playing semifinals and final. The second round was more elaborate: The top 4 of each group proceeded to the next challenge: divided into new 2 groups of 4 teams each and the top 2 of each group going to the semifinals, followed by the final. And after that was the championship final opposing the winners of the two rounds. Two teams were relegated this season – both in the second round, but the criteria was murky: Chaco Petrolero (La Paz) was last in its group with the miserable record of 3 points, so theirs going down is understandable. But Bamin Potosi was relegated from the other group and they were not last, but 7th with Aurora (Cochabamba) behind them, and had 11 points. Even if total points from both parts of the championship decided relegation, the numbers did not tally. Anyhow, they were relegated.
Meantime only one team was going to be promoted and that happened to be Always Ready – a happy occasion for them, returning to top flight.
As for the more important championship race, it was a matter of good calculations and endurance, as the formula pretty much requires: Blooming (Santa Cruz) won Zone A with 26 points, followed by The Strongest (La Paz) with 21 points. Oriente Petrolero (Santa Cruz) won Zone B with 21 points, followed by Litoral (La Paz) with 19 points. Two of the traditionally best – Bolivar and Jorge Wilstermann – were quite down at this phase: Bolivar was 5th with 15 points and Jorge Wilstermann – 4th with 16 points, both in Zone B.
Destroyers (Santa Cruz) were perhaps a bit unlucky, finishing 3rd in Zone A. And the same misfortune happened to them the second round – eliminated by 1 point twice this season. In the semifinals Blooming eliminated Litoral 3-0 and 0-3 – either the winner was decided by a shoot-out or the higher-placed team in the group tournament had advantage.
In the other semifinal – no mystery: The Strongest eliminated Oriente Petrolero 1-2 and 3-0. So far – so good, but the final produced another mystery: The Strongest won the first leg 2-1 and then lost the second 0-1. A third match was staged and it ended 1-1. If away goals goals were allowed, Blooming should have been the winner, without a third match. But it was The Strongest, although the last result was still 1-1… shoot-out followed? If not, on what base The Strongest was proclaimed winner?
Half job done, so to say – The Strongest qualified to the championship final. Standing from left: Martinez, Galarza, Montano, Villegas, Fontana, Iriondo. Crouching: Castillo, Jesus Reynaldo, Messa, Ayaviri.
Second round, first phase. The top 4 in Zone A were: Litoral (23 points), The Strongest (20 points), Blooming (18 points) and Petrolero Cochabamba (16 points). In Zone B: Bolivar (21 points), Jorge Wilstermann (18 points), Real Santa Cruz (17 points) and Oriente Petrolero (17 points).
In the second phase Blooming won Group A with 7 points, followed by Oriente Petrolero with 6 points.
Litoral (La Paz) was most unlucky: they had wonderful season, perhaps one of their very best, but ended 3rd in this phase on worse goal-difference and were out of teh game. And as often was the case with solid performance of smaller clubs in South America, plenty of foreigners made them strong. Standing from left: Hugo A. Zitta (Argentina), Reynaldo Zambrana, Edgar Bautista, Nestor Orellana (Argentina), Carlos Urizar, Ricardo Almeyda (Argentina). First row: Oscar H. Sanz (Argentina), Teodoro Coronel (Paraguay), Cesar Enriquez, Oscar E. Figueroa, Ramiro Vargas.
Jorge Wilstermann (Cochabamba) finished last in the group with 5 points, apparently unable to recover from initially weak or careless start of the season.
Group B was won by Bolivar with 10 points, followed by The Strongest with 9. Real Santa Cruz, 3rd with 5 points, and Petrolero Cochabamba, 4th with 0 points.
In the semifinals mystery continues: Blooming (Santa Cruz) was eliminated by The Strongest 1-0 and 0-1. What made Blooming winners? Nevermind… The other semifinal was crystal clear, but exciting.
Bolivar (La Paz) won the first leg 3-0 and looked like they were already finalists. But Oriente Petrolero was not going to give up – they came back in the second leg and destroyed Bolivar 5-0!
The final between Blooming (Santa Cruz) and Oriente Petrolero was not a big contest – Oriente Petrolero won the first leg 3-0 and then tied the second leg 1-1.
Oriente Petrolero (Santa Cruz) won the second round of the championship and reached the grand final. In it they lost the opening leg in La Paz 0-3, but recovered with 3-1 victory at home and third match had to be played, on neutral ground in Cochabamba. This time Oriente Petrolero was clearly on the receiving end, losing 0-3.
Thus The Strongest won in late March or April 1987 the 1986 championship of Bolivia. Count it as you want… it was their 2nd Liga de Futbol Profesional Boliviano title or 5th Primera Division title. They had to wait almost 10 years for this one – last winning in 1977.
Full credit to their coach Juan Farias for the victory: the progress of the champions suggests careful measured work, aimed to be at top form at the right moment. The Strongest did not win any group phase, but finished 2nd every time. Then played better in the direct elimination semi-finals and the finals, of course. After winning the first round, they did not bother to go all the way in the second round , for they already qualified to the championship final. And there came on top – true, after third match, but they won it with a big margin. It was a team well prepared for a marathon, saving strength here and there for the very end.