PTJan/Feb 2010 p22-27 Open YC JM PJ 22/1/10 10:52 Page 7
Lolo Castagnola and Adolfo Cambiaso celebrate with
delighted La Dolfina supporters before the presentations
Early rounds
◗ ELLERSTINA WERE AT one stage in danger of
missing the final altogether. Having lost 14-13
to the Heguys’ Indios Chapaleufú II side, they
not only needed to beat their last group
opponents Pilará to be sure of their spot, but to
score 13 goals or more en route to victory. Or,
in the event of a low-scoring contest, they had
to win by two goals. The pugnacious Piaget-
sponsored Pilará team proved a popular side
with the Palermo faithful and, down 8-6 in the
fourth chukka and with the crowd braying for
an upset, things didn’t look good for Ellerstina.
At that stage they had surrendered a 6-2 lead
and conceded six unanswered goals. It was a
major test, but they dug deep and recovered
to win 15-13, with Juan Martín Nero the
outstanding performer.
◗ This victory denied Indios Chapaleufú II a
place in the final. They’d have made it, were it
Who won in the noughties?
not for a narrow defeat to Pilará in their
opening game. They finished with two wins
2000 Indios Chapaleufú II bt La Dolfina
successful as that of the Pieres brothers but, when
and a loss, as did Ellerstina, and all their
2001 Indios Chapaleufú I bt La Dolfina
games were decided by a single goal.
2002 La Dolfina bt Indios Chapaleufú II
it counted, he showed his strength and was
2003 La Aguada bt La Dolfina
absolutely outstanding. Facundo Pieres, on the
◗ Alegría once again acquitted themselves
2004 Indios Chapaleufú II bt Chapa I other hand, looked slightly out of sorts and failed to
best by far of the two qualifying sides.
2005 La Dolfina bt Ellerstina
Rated at 31 goals, the foursome – featuring
score from open play in the entire final.
2006 La Dolfina bt La Aguada
metronomic penalty-taking England captain
La Dolfina did well to frustrate him, though the
2007 La Dolfina bt Ellerstina
Luke Tomlinson – never lost by as much
2008 Ellerstina bt La Dolfina
contrasting styles of the two teams at times made as their handicap disadvantage and it was
2009 La Dolfina bt Ellerstina
for a clumsy contest, with periods in the game –
no surprise to see the rejuvenated Fred
particularly early on – predominantly characterised
Mannix Jr climb in handicap from six to
seven post-tournament.
end of the eighth chukka still to play, when by slow and messy plays, persistently punctuated by
Ellerstina led 16-15. lots of whistle.
◗ Elsewhere, La Aguada marked the recovery
of Javier Novillo Astrada with bursts of the
“In my view it’s time polo at the top levels Ellerstina largely looked to move the ball quickly
kind of wonderful, creative team polo that
introduced technology to refer the important and charge straight up the ground to goal, while La
characterised their Triple Crown victory in
decisions, rather like in rugby,” said veteran British Dolfina only did so when there was a clear break 2003, at one stage threatening to dump La
player Alan Kent, coach of the England side in New on. Otherwise, they would slow the play down,
Dolfina out of the tournament and replace
Zealand later this month. “When you think of what Cambiaso would loop back and collect the ball and
them in the final. It wasn’t to be, but their 18-
13 defeat to the eventual champions on top
goes into the Open, in terms of the investment of then coordinate their attacks in a role rather like
form was their only loss of the campaign.
horses, time, energy and passion, it’s a hell of a that of a point guard in basketball.
◗ Despite consistently competitive
responsibility for the two umpires out in the middle It made for an intriguing contest and, in extra
performances, Alegría and Chapa Uno were
to bear on their own.” time, ensured the kind of adrenaline-fuelled, nerve-
the only teams not to record a single victory
Another talking point was the eventful day of shredding finale that you will never get from a
in the tournament. Qualifiers El Paraiso, to
La Dolfina’s back, Lolo Castagnola. In the second Richard Curtis rom-com. As the polo-playing model
everyone’s surprise, snatched an unlikely win
chukka he suffered the anguish of losing his Nacho Figueras – who supported Ellerstina –
over Chapa Uno in drizzly conditions on the
final weekend of group matches, triumphing
mount to an innocuous-looking fall by the boards. succinctly remarked at the final whistle: “In polo
in a thrilling encounter in an extra chukka on
Nina – a pony bought from JP Clarkin in 2007 and there can be no guarantees of a happy ending for Palermo’s number two ground. It was a great
named after his English polo-playing wife Nina your favourite characters.”
team performance from a side that had
Clarkin – suffered what appeared to be a serious Sure enough, the likeable young talents of
looked out of its depth against La Aguada
and La Dolfina in the group’s earlier games.
break of the cannon bone and was immediately Ellerstina were left depressed and deflated at the
taken away by the vet. end of one of the most passionate contests of
◗ Despite the familiar look and feel of the
final, the other sides around regular finalists
However, once Castagnola had recomposed recent memory. For them, the chance of a historic
Ellerstina and La Dolfina appear to be
himself with words of encouragement from his Triple Crown was at stake. For La Dolfina, the
better mounted and more competitive with
team-mates in the break between chukkas, the motivation was revenge – the opportunity to win each passing year. The gap between the
trauma of what had happened appeared to back the game’s biggest prize and, in so doing,
top sides is diminishing, not growing, as
motivate him to one of his most convincing final prove the continued merit of their 40-goal status.
more and more players and teams look
capable of handling the pace and quality of
performances yet. His fearless determination was Cambiaso and co were anxious to demonstrate
the action at the pinnacle of the game. The
there for all to see, even when it meant collecting a that they hadn’t been superceded as Argentina’s
unpredictable nature of this year’s results
deserved yellow card in the seventh chukka. number one side, and they did so (just) in the latest will no doubt have been a source of great
The performance of Pablo MacDonough also chapter of what looks set to be an ongoing saga
interest and encouragement to players,
stood out. His 2009 European season wasn’t as that will run and run. Let’s hope so. F
organisers, spectators and sponsors alike.
www.polotimes.co.uk January/February 2010 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84