A landmark. A saga. A miracle. Every headline of the time faithfully captured Bolivia's qualification for the 1994 World Cup in the United States, which took a group of players and their head coach to national-hero heights.
"Xabier Azkargorta, our head coach, 'ate into' our head, made us believe we really could qualify," said acclaimed former goalkeeper Carlos Leonel Trucco, an Argentine with a Bolivian heart, in a phone interview for Al Día from Mexico. "I remember the elation of the Bolivian people because they hadn't achieved something as conclusive before."
Trucco can forget where he left his wallet or his keys, but the World Cup where the green team opened against Germany is branded in his mind.