Tahuichi Academy

Tahuichi Academy is a football (soccer) school in Bolivia that developed the backbone of the Bolivia national team sice the school's foundation in 1978.

Beginning

The academy was established by Rolando Aguilera Pareja, who came back to Bolivia from political exile in 1978. He had returned to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, after seven years in the United States. He returned with his children who had learned only baseball and American football. Being a son of Ramon Aguilera Costas, a famous football player with Santa Cruz's Blooming in the forties and fifties, Aguilera wanted to keep the sport's tradition in the family. To that end, he contacted Dede, a Brazilian football star living in Bolivia, that he might train his children Roly and Erwin in the family's own backyard. Soon after, other children in the neighborhood joined in and the idea of forming "Bloomingcito" arose. But forming a team was not enough. An opponent was also needed, and that was the task of Ladislao Jiménez, the ex-goalie of Oriente Petrolero (the other local team). Consequently, "Orientito" was born and that is how that first game took place on that memorable Sunday in March. Many parents then became very enthusiastic and soon there were over 200 applications for registration of children of different ages. As a result of this, Mr. Aguilera took the initiative to organize a football academy for youth.

In the regional Chiriguano Indian language, "Tahuichi" (pronounced tah-WEE-chee) means "Big Bird." It was the nickname of Mr. Aguilera's father, in whose honor the "Tahuichi Aguilera" Academy was founded. The Academy was formed as a non-profit sports institution on May 1, 1978. Its primary focus then was children's recreation and the development of the basics of the sport. Tahuichi was not yet a year old when it won the national championships. Soon after, it made international news when it tied 0-0 with Sao Paolo (Brazil) during the preliminary match of Bolivia versus Brazil in the 1979 Copa America. In January 1980, in Buenos Aires, Tahuichi beat Independiente of Argentina 4 -1 in front of 50,000 spectators to win the South American U-14 Championships. Club Palmeiras of Brazil finished third. In 1985, Tahuichi Academy was invited as Bolivia's national team to participate at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

1994 World Cup Finals

Bolivia qualified for the World Cup Finals for the first time in 1994. Nine Tahuichi graduates were on that team.

Famous Alumnus

* Marco Etcheverry
* Jaime Moreno
* Juan Manuel Peña
* Erwin Sánchez
* Francisco Takeo
* Luis Cristaldo
* Joselito Vaca
* Carlos Menjivar
* Juan Carlos Arce
* José Carlo Fernández
* Mauricio Ramos
* Renny Ribera
* Rubén Tufiño
* Hugo Suárez
* Jhasmani Campos
* José Alfredo Castillo
* Ronald García
* Álvaro Peña

Honors

* Mundialito champion - Santa Cruz, BO, 2001, 2003, 2004
* Vinhedo Cup Champion - Brazil, 2001, 2002
* Cuadrangular Internacional Champion - Argentina, 2001
* Mundialito Mitai Champion - Paraguay, 2001
* Copa Jao Havelange Champion - Brazil, 2002
* Vinhedo Cup Champion - Brazil, 2001, 2002
* Cuadrangular Internacional Champion - Argentina, 2001
* Mundialito Mitai Champion - Paraguay, 2001
* Antofagasta Cup champion - Chile, 2000
* Nino Martires Acosta Nu Champion - Paraguay, 1999, 2000
* Copa Santa Catarina - Brazil, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
* Peace Cup Champion - Sweden, 2000
* Tivoli Cup Champion - Denmark, 2000, 2001
* International Tournament Champion - Venezuela, 1999
* International Tournament Champion - Paraguay, 1999
* Copa La Cerena Champion - Chile, 1999
* Mundialito "Peace and Unity" Champion - Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 1995, 97, 98, 2001
* World Champion, adidas 4x4 - France, 1998
* Nike Cup Champion - Argentina, 1998
* Sun Bowl adidas Invitational, undefeated - USA, 1998
* Mundialito de Clubes Champion - Spain, 1997
* Brondby Cup Champion - Denmark, 1996
* South American Youth Champions - Argentina, 1996, 1997
* Saarbrucken Cup Champion - Germany, 1996
* St. Benedict's Tournament Champion - USA, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001
* San Francisco Cup Champion - USA, 1994
* Friendship Cup Champion - Peru, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999
* Cono Sur Games Champion, U-15 South American Championship - Chile, 1992
* Ian Rush International Soccer Tournament Champion - Wales, 1992
* Cordoba Cup Champion - Argentina, 1990
* Holland Cup Champion - Holland, 1990
* Dallas Cup Champion - USA, 1987, 88, 89, 90, 96
* Dana Cup Champion - Denmark, 1990, 92, 93, 96, 97, 99
* Hatters Cup Champion - England, 1989
* Helsinki Cup Champion - Finland, 1988, 89, 95
* Participation in FIFA (U-16) World Cup - Canada, 1987
* FIFA South American Champion (U-16 ) - Lima, Peru, 1986
* Participation in FIFA U16 World Cup - China, 1985
* Gothia Cup Champion - Sweden 1984, 85, 88, 89, 90, 93, 95, 96, 97, 99, 2001
* International Champion, Santander - Spain, 1984
* Latin American Champion - Argentina, 1983
* MUNDIALET Champion - Spain, 1982
* South American Champion of Clubs - Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 1982
* World Champion River Plate - Argentina, 1981
* Pan American Champion - Brazil, 1981
* International Sun Bowl Champion - USA, 1980
* South American Champions of Clubs - AFIM 78 - Argentina, 1980

External links

* [http://www.tahuichi.com.bo Official site]

Source