The Argentine national teams Field hockey will debut this weekend Pro League 2022/23the event organized by the International Federation of this sport (FIH), which will present some in this fourth edition changes in its format.
The tournament calendar will be divided into blocks or windows, in which mini-contests will be played between three countries in the same venue, with each team playing twice against each rival. A modification celebrated by the Argentinesas it will allow them to play more international matches, with less travel and costs, and plan better each season.
The lioness Y the Lions they will put their peers first Belgium and of Germanywith two triangles to play at the same time mendoza until Wednesday 9 November.
And before the curtain falls on this 2022, others like it will sound Santiago del Estero next to Holland Y Great Britainfrom 14 to 18 December.
But even if in the coming months they will share locations and opponents, those led by Fernando Ferrera and those led by Mariano Ronconi They come at very different times in their seasons and with different scenarios in the near future.
Las Leonas, to continue growing
The women’s team is closing a 2022 of so much action and great results, which has done nothing but extend the excellent present experienced since it obtained the silver medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
From the podium in the Japanese capital, the Argentines were crowned in Pan-American Cup which was played in January in Santiago de Chile; conquered for the first time pro-league, securing the title weeks before the closing of the competition; They were runners-up in the World Cup in Spain and Holland; and last month they won silver in the South American Games in Asuncion.
Looking ahead, the next big commitment is the Pan American Games scheduled for late October and early November 2023 in Santiago, Chile. For this Ferrara is very clear on the team’s goal for the first games of this tournament.
“We don’t think: “Uh, we have to defend the title”. We usually use the Pro League more to give international matches to players, facing the most important tournaments “, explained the coach.
Although he immediately clarified: “That doesn’t mean we don’t want to win every game. We always go out on the pitch to try to do our best to be able to take the win. But always also with attention to the process and to giving the girls the opportunity to gain experience and play international matches “.
The World Cup in which Argentina lost the final 3-1 to the Netherlands ended a “short and difficult process” for the team, as the coach explained.
After that tournament, many players went to Europe to play there in the leagues of different countries with their clubs. The coaching staff started working in Argentina with a projection group, with girls from the junior and other youngsters ready to jump into the senior. And now some of the most experienced who have already returned from the Old Continent and several names who will return to the chosen one have been added.
The most sensational return is that of Lucina Von der Heyde. The missionary, world junior champion in 2016 and best player in the world in that category in 2018, left the team in early 2019 to take care of your mental healthbut he accepted the call for Ferrara and at 25 he will dress the bianconeri again.
We are working with a roster of 40 players and the idea is to give them all the opportunities and see how they perform. We will face the Pro League with the team we can take, but knowing that the important thing is to give opportunities to the players we want to see, “explained Ferrara.
“For the December games we will have all the ‘European‘available and will also be added Barbara declareswho is finishing his recovery from the injury (Editor’s note: In April he tore the ligaments in his right knee) “.
“We really like this gift, which is very important, and the girls are very happy. But we don’t feel pressure and we know that this team still has a lot to improve and that it has not yet reached its maximum limit. This is a moment of growth. for us, a moment to see the players and make them grow. We are clear what the goal is “, closed the coach.
In the Mendocino Hockey StadiumLas Leonas, second in the standings, will face Germany (5th) this Saturday and Tuesday 8th, at 19:00 and will face Belgium (6th) on Sunday 6 and Wednesday 9, simultaneously.
The Lions, towards the 2023 World Cup
The men’s team has just over two months left to face one of the most important tournaments of its Olympic cycle: the M.world of indiato be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, January 13-19 next year.
The Lions They were seventh in Tokyo 2020 and they come from the conquest of gold in Odesur. Now they want to return to the world podium. And this fourth edition of the pro-league will be the key, think about that goal.
“In this first triangle we will play with Belgium, number two in the world and current Olympic and world champion, and with Germany, a power. We are very excited and very happy to be able to face these teams, with a lot of desire to be up to it. of the task and to compete in the best possible way, but without losing sight of our great goal, which is the World CupRonconi commented.
“Although I don’t like to say that we only use this championship to prepare for the World Cup, because it belittles it. We value this tournament a lot, not only because we want to win it, but because it is what allows us to stay at the highest level”, he said.
And he explained: “Gegraphically we live on the other side of the world from where hockey is played, which is Europe. We are very far from everything. There, Germany calls Belgium and in 15 minutes they organize a week of test matches. But everything is far away for us and we don’t have this possibility. This Pro League allows us to have many games against the top 10 in the world. And this is a lot for the formation of the national team, because every game is a constant learning and maturation “.
The Lions will use the triangles of Mendoza and Santiago del Estero to “get back into the team”. It is that after the end of the last Pro League, in which they were fifth, and with no very important commitments in sight, most of the players joined the European clubs for the championships of that continent. And just a week ago they returned to the countryside to join the local team.
“Of the 30 player squad we have for the World Cup trial, 30 percent were playing in Europe. So when they returned last week, we had to get back in the game and come back. This is the most important goal. it is lack of work and we are refining a lot of things. We have to train with a lot of intensity and a lot of volume to be able to reach the level “, commented the coach.
In the squad list who will play the Pro League there is a mix of generations. From historical names like Mattia Re Y Luca VilaRio 2016 Olympic champions, to young people like Battista Capurro (19 years old) e Facundo Zarate (22), product of that local team that Ronconi and his technical staff formed this year.
“If we did something right, it was that project for the local team. It wasn’t easy. There was also a lot of empathy from the players, because to make it happen we talked to the ‘Europeans‘to tell him we had to take their scholarships away of the ENARD and the Secretariat – which limit themselves – to giving them to those who were in formation in Argentina. And the players have made everything available. Today we are working with 45 guys (there were 30) and the base has expanded a lot “, the technician analyzed.
And he closed: “Those who did not make this list for the World Cup still went through a path in which they learned and understood a lot. And those in this Pro League squad share training and time with players like Mazzilli, Vila or King, those who watch and from those who learn. The contacts, without knowing it, are helping us a lot to train future generations“.
The seventh-ranked Lions will face Germany (4th) on Saturday and Tuesday 8th, at 9:30 pm. And in Belgium (2nd) Sunday and Wednesday 9, simultaneously.
Source: Clarin
