The Strongest versus, well, a youth team from Velez. With a league match Friday they didn't risk anyone in the elevation of La Paz (which is arguably the best home field advantage in football.)
We were running late, which is a given as everyone in Bolivia does, and finally made our way to the stadium a little bit before kick off. Outside the stadium, amongst the many items for sale is... Styrofoam, for your seat! Brilliant idea, really.
With our styrofoam seats in place, we entered the stadium and found some seats. Let me tell you; the vendors don't quit. You'll hear "cafe cafe cafe cafe cafe" the ENTIRE match. Interesting times include coffee, some strange sandwiches, and empanadas!
The crowd is incredible. I absolutely loved the atmosphere it was much more active than the FC Barcelona match I had gone to a while back. The supporters section is incredible, unveiling a banner that says "Bolivar I am your father". Bolivar being their La Paz rivals (who share the stadium).
From the kick off The Strongest dominated and could've been 2-0 up within 10 minutes. They overloaded the right wing and Nelvin Soliz was a terror. Though they dominated they went in to the half at 0-0.
The second half was more domination and The Strongest were eventually awarded a penalty which the captain, Pablo Daniel Escobar scored. He added another later to seal the match 2-0.
After the match we loitered around for a bit where you can find people cooking on open fires near the stadium and setting up several seats to sell their food.
A short while after, the band came out and a strong contingent of young, female supporters took to the streets singing songs of The Strongest's victory. It was really awesome to see, and a great argument against the false stereotypes of women football fans.
My first Copa Lib, and South American match was a success. The Strongest are now my South American team and Tio Roger even bought me a scarf! Let's hope they can keep their campaign alive.