The Strongest

Early years

The Strongest was founded on 8 April 1908 by a group of 12 students and were originally known as "The Strong Football Club", before later becoming "The Strongest Football Club", or El Club Mas Fuerte in Spanish. Its first President and founder was José León López Villamil. Its first championship was in 1911, well before any of the current Bolivian teams had even been created.

In 1930, The Strongest became the first and only Bolivian team to win a League championship with no goals scored against them. The same year, The Strongest inaugurated the Estadio Hernando Siles, with a 4–1 victory against its classical rival (at the time), Universitario.

It is the only football team in the world to have a battle named after it. In the Chaco War (1932–1935) the players, staff and members of the club, which numbered around 600, enlisted in the Bolivian Army. A division largely composed of these "Stronguistas" played a vital part in the Bolivian Army's most important victory. As a result of that, the battle is named "Batalla de Cañada Strongest" in Bolivian history books.

The club was one of the founding members of the first professional Bolivia league in 1950, with all 9 clubs being from La Paz. With the 1952 Torneo Interdepartamental, the club won its first professional league championship.

The Strongest won the 1964 Copa Simon Bolívar, which gave it qualification for its first ever continental competition; the 1965 Copa Libertadores, at a time when only national champions entered the tournament. The club achieved Bolivia's first victory outside of the country on a club level, defeating Ecuador's Deportivo Quito. The team finished 2nd in its group that year, behind Argentina's Boca Juniors.

1967–1980: Rafael Mendoza era

Arguably the greatest president in The Strongest's history, Rafael Mendoza was in charge of the club from 1967 to 1980. In that time, he dealt with the Viloco Tragedy and with many economic hardships, consequent of the political instability of Bolivia and the global economic depression.

One of the greatest achievements was to consolidate the Achumani Sports Complex where the Estadio Rafael Mendoza currently sits. There were many hardships to reach this goal. First, the club had to secure the lands, which were much more extensive than the small lot the club had in Achumani, near the more centrally located Achumani Market. "Don Rafo", in a meeting with other directors, said that now was the time to stop thinking small and start thinking in the future of the team.

The stadium was built and rebuilt (after the river kept eating away at the foundations for some time) from 1974 to 1986. Along with this, the complex was finished including tennis, racquetball, volleyball, and basketball courts. It also has a swimming pool and dining facilities.

"Don Rafo" is best remembered for his hard work in the Achumani Sports Complex. However, he was also one of the few club presidents to put money into the club. Also, in this time, The Strongest achieved great national and international success. Some events to remember in his presidency are the visit by Pelé's Santos team in 1971, an amazing game against Boca Juniors led by Antonio Roma and Silvio Marzolini, and many national championships including the formation of the Bolivian Professional Football League.

1969: The Viloco tragedy

On 24 September 1969, a local holiday, the team was invited to participate in an exhibition game in Santa Cruz organized by the Asociacion Cruceña de Fubol (Santa Cruz's football association); the team had played its last official match on 14 September, and the friendly game was part of a break from their local competition.

On 26 September, the day the team was due to return from Santa Cruz by plane, it was announced that the aircraft, a Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano DC-6 that was carrying twenty members of the team, had disappeared. A day later, there was news that the plane had crashed near Viloco, a rural area between the Tres Cruces Peaks. All sixty-nine passengers, including the entire squad, and five crew members died. The cause of the crash was attributed to pilot error. Luis Gini, Marco Antonio Velasco, and Rolando Vargas didn't board the plane due to their injuries.

Members of the team who died in the crash were:

1977–2013: Inaugural league champion and Tricampeonato

In 1977, the club was one of the founding members of the Bolivian Professional Football League, and won the first edition. From 1979 to 1981, the club finished as runner-ups three consecutive times. In 1989, they won the league title, and earned the right to play in the Copa Libertadores the following year: the 1990 Copa Libertadores, where the club was eliminated in the second round by Universidad Católica.

In 2003 the club won both tournaments of the year: Apertura and Clausura, becoming the first "Bicampeon" (two-time champion) of the new league format under Argentine manager Néstor Clausen.

The highest achievement in an international competition for The Strongest was achieved in the 2005 Copa Sudamericana, when the squad led by coach Eduardo Villegas eliminated its classic rivals Bolívar 4–2 on aggregate (first and second legs both ended in 2–1 victories). Later, the team went on to defeat Ecuador's LDU Quito – including a 3–0 victory in Quito. The Strongest was eliminated by Mexican side Pumas UNAM in the third round (round of 16) 4–3 on aggregate, who later went on to become runners-up to cup winners Boca Juniors.

The club became the first "Tricampeon" (three-time champion) of Bolivian football following its 2013 Apertura league title under Bolivian manager Eduardo Villegas. Tigre had previously won the 2012 Apertura and Clausura tournaments.

2014–present: Recent history

In the 2016 Copa Libertadores, The Strongest made its debut in the competition by historically beating São Paulo at Pacaembu Stadium 1–0 with a goal from Matías Alonso, earning their first Copa Libertadores away win in 34 years. Their last away win in the competition was a 3–2 victory against Técnico Universitario in April 1981. The club eventually placed third in the group with 8 points and 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses.

In 2017 the club had arguably its best ever run in the Copa Libertadores. The club entered the tournament in the second phase and beat Montevideo Wanderers 6–0 on aggregate. In the next phase, it had to face Unión Española, and beat them 6–1 on aggregate, including a 5–0 home victory which equalled their highest international win margin. The club made the group stage, and was drawn with Santos, Independiente Santa Fe, and Sporting Cristal. They began their group stage campaign by beating Santa Fe 2–0 in La Paz. Then they lost their only game of that group, 2–0 against Santos in Brazil. They went on to draw three more games while beating Sporting Cristal 5–1. The club finished second in the group, giving them qualification for the round of 16, where they faced Lanús. The first leg was a 1–1 draw in La Paz, and the second one was a 0–1 win for Lanus in Argentina, so the Bolivian club was narrowly eliminated 2–1 on aggregate.