The Week That Was – Bolivian Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Este artículo también está disponible en español en Blogs de Bolivia
Bolivia will not be participating in this year’s World Cup in Germany.  In fact, they did not even come close to qualifying, finishing at the bottom of the table in the South American region.  Even though footballing success on an international level has not been achieved since qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, the most popular sport has been a subject for a growing number of blogs written by Bolivians in Bolivia and abroad.
One blog-like site that covers Bolivian football in its entirety, with special emphasis on those players abroad is La Maquina Verde, run by Alberto who resides in Sweden.  The website, which is currently under reconstruction, draws loyal readers who want to find out the latest rumors on player movement abroad, since Bolivia only boasts a handful of players who play outside of the country.
Vittorio Cattoretti takes a look at Bolivian and other international football on his blog Con Pelotas, which is a part of the Mundo Al Revés series of blogs.  This entry about the current state of Bolivian football searches for the answer to the question, “Who is to blame?”  His conclusion is that the entire system is at fault and there needs to be a reconstruction from the ground-up.  Perhaps a dramatic change would give hope for 2010, when the next World Cup is scheduled for South Africa.
Hinchas (fans) from various domestic league clubs have taken their opinions and photos to the internet, giving them an opportunity to express their love for their team.  La Paz’s top two teams, Bolivar and The Strongest, both have a presence in the blogosphere.  Bolivar, also known as “La Academia”, has three blogs, one written anonymously called simply Club Bolivar – Campeón Boliviano  and another similarly named blog called Club Bolivar – Campeón Boliviano written by “Lucho Bolivar”.  The third Bolivar blog is written by a university student named Oscar from Cochabamba called Bolivar_F.C. Official Hattrick website.
Their rivals, the team simply known as “The Strongest”, also count on a pair of blogs.  The Strongest, Orgullo Boliviano is a project of José Fernando Velasco Peñaranda from the Department of La Paz, which compiles different stories from newspapers regarding his favorite club.  Another site with little recent activity is called Blog Stronguista.
The third club with a noticeable presence in blogs is San José from Oruro.  H. Alvaro, a self-described university student and bum has an MSN Spaces page dedicated to the “Best Team in Bolivia.”  Finally, another page billed as the Página de Aliento Al Poderoso San José de Oruro comes complete with music from the club's famous backing brass band (recommended to turn down speakers if clicking on link).
Finally, Gabriel Iriarte Rico's entry included in last week's Bolivian blog summary was recently featured on the website The Global Game.   The entry described a football game, in which President-elect Evo Morales participated in a pick-up game with Iriarte and his friends last year in Cochabamba as described in the blog Gabriel al Sur de Francia.
Note: We are pleased to announce that a Spanish version of “The Week that Was – Bolivian Blogs” will appear on the Blogs de Bolivia site on a weekly basis.   Special thanks to Miguel Esquirol for making this a possibility.