Back to square one for Maradona

After Argentina's historic loss to Bolivia, Maradona will have to re access his strategy & players when playing in high altitude locations. In Bolivia, he completely underestimated the forces of nature and the soccer abilities of the Bolivians. He, however, will soon get a chance to redeem himself when they play Ecuador on June 10th in Quito (2,850 m/9,350 ft) the second highest capital city after La Paz, Bolivia. I agree with Maradona that high altitude soccer should not be banned. It is just one extreme condition out of many such as high heat/humidity or extreme cold that one needs to prepare for. What really annoys me is the lack of mental and physical preparation the team had going into this game - After this horrific loss in altitude, I think Maradona will look very closely at the strategy used by the "Ghost Team" of coach Enrique Omar Sívori in 1973 (Qualifiers for Germany 1974). Basically, Sivori selected a young team of domestic players and had them train secretly in Argentina's high altitiude city of Tilcara (Jujuy province - 2500 m/8,200 ft)
There they trained 40+ days until the day of the game where they were joined by a few other high profile players. The outcome of that game was a 1-0 victory for Argentina.


1974 National Team

I will keep a close eye on any new players he might considering or should consider integrating to the national team.

Argentina Vs Bolivia: High elevation will be a factor

Argentina will soon take on Bolivia in Bolivia's high altitude capital city of La Paz at nearly 12,000 feet of altitude. Most International teams never have to subject their teams to these extreme conditions which can cause hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and a multitude of related ailments. FIFA even tried to ban international games from being played in ultra-high altitude stadiums located in Bolivia, Peru, & Colombia in 2007 but eventually retracted due to public outcry from these nations.
In my last trip to Argentina, I took an excursion to the Andian region of Mendoza at an elevation of 10,000 ft. I remember feeling short of breath and extremely lethargic just by walking.

Given all we know about the effects of high altitude, I think Maradona should've given his team more time to acclimate to the high elevation before Wednesday's game which is only 2 days away. The team is actually flying to Santa Cruz de la Sierra tomorrow which is in the low-land area of Bolivia (1,365 ft). The team will not get to La Paz (12,000 ft) until the day of the game. These conditions will definitely slow the pace of the game and will be a key factor on the formation and players Maradona will choose.


Argentina's Record in La Paz, Bolivia:

Won 3 games - Lost 3 games - Tied 1 game

1957 (Qualifiers for Sweden 1958) - Lost 2-0
1965 (Qualifiers for England 1966)- Won 2-1
1969 (Qualifiers for Mexico 1970) - Lost 3-1
1973 (Qualifiers for Germany 1974 - Won 1-0
1997 (Qualifiers for France 1998) - Lost 1-2
2001 (Qualifiers for Japan/Korea 2002) - Tied 3-3
2005 (Qualifiers for Germany 2006) - Won 2-1