Always Ready was crowned champion of the professional soccer league for the first time this Thursday, with its 2-0 victory in its visit to Nacional in Potosí (southwest), after returning to the first division in 2019.
Always Ready reached the most important title in Bolivia with a goal from the naturalized Paraguayan Bolivian Nelson Cabrera (23) and Edemir Rodríguez (90 + 1) to end the uncertainty that dominated the last few days.
Cabrera, author of the opening of the scoreboard and one of the pieces in the defense, expressed his happiness after the match. “It is a great joy for us, we are just champions, I thank the club, we are very happy,” he said.
The Argentine coach, Omar ‘Turco’ Asad, declared himself “very satisfied with what has been done” and that “all the credit goes to the players.”
The team from the Andean city of El Alto, neighboring La Paz, added 51 units in 26 games, above The Strongest and Bolívar, who also fought for first place. That is why the uncertainty lasted until the last date.
The Strongest was not enough with its 3-1 victory against Blooming in the city of Santa Cruz (east), which only reached 50 units. Bolívar also beat Oriente Petrolero 4-1 in his courtyard in La Paz and was left with 49 points.
The ‘Tigre de Achumani’ and the ‘Academia’ hoped to win their matches and also had to wait for their opponents to lose.
Always Ready is one of the oldest teams in La Paz and has had its ups and downs throughout its history.
In 1991 it was his last year in the professional soccer league to descend to the local tournament in the city of La Paz.
He was champion of the B in 2018, a tournament between departmental teams, which allowed him to return to the first division in 2019 and later qualify for the South American Cup for 2020, when he did not pass the first phase, because he crashed against the Colombian Millonarios.
Always Ready, classified for the Copa Libertadores-2021, lifted the national champion’s cup for the first time in its life, since the league was inaugurated in 1977.
The current president of the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF), Fernando Costa, was the boss of the new champion, who left the leadership of the team to his 24-year-old son.
The first four of the table qualify for the Copa Libertadores and the next four for the South American.
Positions:
Pts J G E P Gf Gc
1. Always Ready 51 26 16 3 7 59 29
2. The Strongest 50 26 16 2 8 65 35
3. Bolívar 49 26 15 4 7 60 29
4. Royal Pari 46 26 14 4 8 42 34
5. Wilstermann 42 26 12 6 8 36 28
6. Guabirá 42 26 13 3 10 43 43
7. National 39 26 11 6 9 34 35
8. Palmaflor 38 26 11 5 10 29 30
9. Blooming 38 26 12 2 12 38 43
10. East 30 26 9 3 14 37 51
11. Aurora 23 26 6 5 15 26 37
12. Real Potosí 23 26 6 5 15 35 59
13. Real Santa Cruz 23 26 6 5 15 36 62
14. San Jose
20 26 6 5 15 27 52
-The FBF sanctioned San José with three points for player judgment.
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