ARGENTINA/BOLIVIA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Bolivia frustrate Messi's Argentina again in qualifier, gamein 1-1 tie

Record ID: 446701

  • Title: ARGENTINA/BOLIVIA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Bolivia frustrate Messi's Argentina again in qualifier, gamein 1-1 tie
  • Date: 12th November 2011
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (NOVEMBER 11, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF RIVER PLATE STADIUM VARIOUS OF ARGENTINE FANS LEAVING STADIUM AFTER MATCH VARIOUS OF GUSTAVO QUINTEROS, BOLIVIAN COACH, ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) GUSTAVO QUINTEROS, BOLIVIAN COACH, SAYING: "I think that the team played to the max today. They were organized, confident in the work we've done. They did a good job and they had a significant result. It's the second they earn over here, against Argentina, and well, we hadn't achieved it before. I, at least, am very proud of the players and very happy." JOURNALISTS A NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) GUSTAVO QUINTEROS, BOLIVIAN COACH, SAYING: "We left the ball with some players who weren't as significant as Messi, so we gave some of those players space and we tried to cover the circuit of some of them so Messi couldn't have space and unbalance us." QUINTEROS LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF ALEJANDRO SABELLA, ARGENTINA COACH, ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ALEJANDRO SABELLA, ARGENTINA COACH, SAYING: "Obviously, it wasn't a good outcome: first, because we thought we would win. We played against a team that is worse than ours and I congratulate them for the results they achieved, but I think that we had enough merit for the three points." JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ALEJANDRO SABELLA, ARGENTINA COACH, SAYING: "I think the result was too packed in light of what was seen on the field. We had our options, so did they. We had many chances at a goal and, unfortunately, we could only make one but football is like that, as we know." SABELLA LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 27th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina, Bolivia, Plurinational State Of
  • City:
  • Country: Argentina Bolivia, Plurinational State Of
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA6V3UCF7M9QDV1XA15PZPZCZBO
  • Story Text: Bolivia frustrated Argentina for the second time in four months when they held them 1-1 in their World Cup qualifier at a sun-drenched Monumental Stadium on Friday (November 11).
    The crowd of 30,000 watched as Lionel Messi's side, also held 1-1 by the Bolivians in their opening Copa America match in nearby La Plata in July, had to come from behind again to deny their modest opponents a first victory on Argentine soil.
    Bolivia coach Gustavo Quinteros said he was proud of the way his team performed.
    "I think that the team played to the max today. They were organized, confident in the work we've done. They did a good job and they had a significant result. It's the second they earn over here, against Argentina, and well, we hadn't achieved it before. I, at least, am very proud of the players and very happy," he said.
    There was an over-reliance on Messi to create openings and Quinteros said his team was able to exploit that.
    "We left the ball with some players who weren't as significant as Messi, so we gave some of those players space and we tried to cover the circuit of some of them so Messi couldn't have space and unbalance us," he said.
    Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said his team was confident when they entered the match.
    "Obviously, it wasn't a good outcome: first, because we thought we would win. We played against a team that is worse than ours and I congratulate them for the results they achieved, but I think that we had enough merit for the three points," he said.
    Sabella acknowledged that the Bolivian defense was packed and his team was unable to penetrate it.
    "I think the result was too packed in light of what was seen on the field. We had our options, so did they. We had many chances at a goal and, unfortunately, we could only make one but football is like that, as we know," he said.
    The result left Argentina with four points from three matches after last month's 4-1 home win over Chile and shock 1-0 defeat away to Venezuela.
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