La Bélgica, a Historic Club Seeking Its Place in Santa Cruz Football Again

After 73 years of history, Club La Bélgica is starting over with a familiar ambition: to reclaim its place in the top division of Santa Cruz football.

The Colpa Bélgica club was re-established last weekend. Luis Montes leads the organization as president, with Osmar Vaca as vice president, while Brazilian coach Robson dos Santos heads the technical staff. The team will begin in the Primera de Ascenso and hopes to advance step by step through the B division and into the Primera A of the Asociación Cruceña de Fútbol.

La Bélgica represents the municipality of Colpa Bélgica, about 30 kilometers northwest of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Its squad includes several young players from the area, who will wear the club’s traditional red and white colors as they try to build its footballing future.

The club’s past gives the revival added weight. During the rise of professional football in the 1960s and 1970s, La Bélgica featured players including Ramiro Blacutt, Miguel Aguilar, Arturo Saucedo Landa, the Hurtado brothers, Peji and Genaro, and goalkeeper Escalera. Brazilian players such as Matateo, Zizinho, Capú, Pafuncio, Nilton Pinto and Fonseca, along with Paraguayans Cardozo, Ocampo and Benitez, also formed part of its notable squads.

The club reached its greatest local success in 1974, when it won the Santa Cruz championship and ended Oriente Petrolero’s run of five consecutive titles. La Bélgica won the championship again in 1977 and 1981. Now, its rebuilt side must begin the climb from the lower divisions.