The former selector of Bolivia, the Spanish Xabier Azkargorta, He harangued the Green players this Saturday to give everything of themselves “without excuses” to face the qualifiers of the Qatar World Cup 2022, which begin next October.
The 'Bigotón', as Azkargorta is affectionately called in Bolivia, He held a virtual chat with those summoned by the Venezuelan César Farías for the first two dates of the qualifying rounds, in which the national team will face Brazil and Argentina.
“Nothing can be achieved in life if it is not with the contribution of the protagonists and the protagonists are you,” said the Basque.
With the slogan “there are no excuses”, he urged the players to banish from their vocabulary the “is that”, because regardless of the problems that arise, “the important thing is what one can contribute to the group. Without that, no there is nothing to do. “
Azkargorta is well remembered in Bolivia because under his leadership the national team achieved the historic qualification for the United States World Cup in 1994.
“I did not take them, I accompanied them” to the World Cup, assured the 'Bigotón' to the new breed of players that make up the Green, to whom he also said that “no one is going to take anyone”, but that everyone is there to work team up.
He also advised them to give 100 percent and keep in mind that the competition is “against oneself.”
“If they don't qualify, what are we going to do, but one thing is clear: do what you know how to do, but do it,” he said and asked that “anyone who is not willing to give everything they know” should withdraw.
The Basque recalled that the team that played in the 1993 qualifiers had only one player who played for a foreign team, Erwin 'Platiní' Sánchez, in the Portuguese Boavista.
After qualifying, at least thirteen of that group came to play abroad, so he asked the players to take into account that the team's victory is a personal victory.
The talk of the 'Bigotón' with the selected ones has a special aspect, because on this date the 27 years of the last match of the 1993 qualifiers are remembered, in which Bolivia sealed its qualification to the United States with a tie to one against Ecuador in Guayaquil.
That was the first and so far only time that Bolivia won the right to be in a soccer World Cup and it did so with results such as the overwhelming 1-7 delivered to Venezuela in Puerto Ordaz, or the 2-0 against Brazil in La Paz.
Bolivia will visit Brazil on October 8 on the first day of the South American qualifiers and will host Argentina five days later in La Paz on the second date.