The game plan for La Paz to be with us | OPINION

“If you go in a car at fifty kilometers per hour you see everything: the cows, the flowers, the landscape, but if you go at a hundred and forty you do not see anything, only the route” in that analogy of Renato Cesarini, old Argentine soccer teacher , perhaps some answers can be found to be a high Peru in Bolivia. The networks remind us, cruelly, of our statistics in the highlands: we have never won in La Paz. The altitude of Hernando Siles is 3,637 meters above sea level, that of Atahualpa the scene of the surprise Blanquiroja victory in Quito in 2783. Almost a thousand meters difference. They feel. Height is not a verse.

Last year Binacional, which later ate five against Sao Paulo’s substitutes at Morumbi, defeated the Brazilians’ star eleven in Juliaca. The lack of oxygen did its job and after dominating much of the game, in the final stages, the bloodless paulistas could not prevent Arango from making the national champions smile with a whiplash that Volpi could not stop. Goal, victory and illusion for the Moqueguanos who a few days later would receive eight goals in Buenos Aires, courtesy of River Plate. The two faces of a mirror that does not lie:

It is unfair to question the location of a team for reasons of altitude. Bolivians live there and it is their right to receive their rivals at home. In a very high percentage, lung capacities and physical resistance matter more than talent with the ball.

Thus, it is essential not to make mistakes in the alignment or in the strategy to achieve what we have never achieved so far. In other scenarios it can be corrected on the fly, in La Paz not. Rowing against the current for an early goal by Farias’ men can be lapidary. Peru needs to be solid in defense based on order and concentration, circulate the ball with intelligence and of course (this is imperative) maximize the chances of scoring. We are not going to get to the Lampe arch frequently, but when we do we will have to convert.

The stopped ball is an excellent goal alternative, we have tall people who go well up and good executors with still ball. Having it away from our field is also important, to be able to breathe and regain energy. Defending with the ball and attacking with danger when possible should be the watchword. Ricardo must read the procedure well to get the changes right: just refreshments at the right time.

In a context as difficult as that of this match, it is unthinkable to believe that Gallese will have a quiet task. These are the encounters in which the archers show what they are made of. Pedro must be impeccable. With our archer at a good level, you can dream of the epic.

With solidarity, courage, concentration and an intelligent game plan we can wage war in La Paz. There is always a first time, always.