“Tucked tightly among the high-rises of the Miraflores district of La Paz, Bolivia, the Hernando Siles stadium is one of those great South American dust bowls drenched in character. Yet few stadiums anywhere can match its home-field advantage: Nestled in the Andes at a lung-tightening 11,932 feet, it brings soccer to the very roof of the Americas. Last month, it was where the Brazilian club Internacional arrived only hours before kicking off this season’s Copa Libertadores, the South American championship. Internacional had planned to spend only 12 hours in La Paz to minimize the effects of the city’s altitude, but even that was plenty for the environment to take its claustrophobic toll.” NY Times