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