TENGOAL | Profile


turned 14 it was getting complicated for me in Argentina,” Juan explained. “Once you reach a certain age you need to start paying memberships to play with the grown-ups and at the better clubs. I couldn't afford it and I didn't have the horses to play. I was kind of struggling, thinking what am I going to do now?” His dilemma did not last long. At a


fieldside barbecue following a potrillos match, Juan Britos met Lolo Castagnola. This 10-goaler


skipped the small talk


and cut straight to chase, asking, “What’s your dream?” Britos recalls his reply came without hesitation. “I want to be 10 goals and I want to play the Open.” By the time lunch was finished Juan has secured himself a position with Castagnola’s organisation. The following five years were spent


juggling school, month-long stints with Valiente in America


and working for


Castagnola; a grueling schedule for a teenager. There are no regrets


though.


“I got very lucky because I began playing as a professional with good organisations. With Lolo, you work. I was 14 years old


34


“When you don’t have much it’s hard, you don’t know where you’re going. You play the Argentine season, spend all the money you have, and then get another job. You are going, but you don’t have a clue where you’re going. No one tells you how to do it, no one teaches you. You need to want it really bad”


and it was an amazing experience. I was doing whatever I was asked - taking care of the horses, working with the pilots - at the same time I was playing amazing practices with Lolo and Lucas Monteverde, sometimes


[Guillermo] Terrera and


[Adolfo] Cambiaso.” Juan’s foray into polo in England was


unconventional for a player of his calibre. Without a UK handicap or horses, he started from the bottom, helping Englishman George Meyrick with his ponies, and hoping for opportunities to play. As months of fruitless searching went by, doubt began to creep in. “When I came to the UK I was just 18 and without a job. I was realising how hard it was going to be, and I didn’t know how to continue.” Uncertainly, coupled with the loneliness


of being away from friends and family, had Juan considering quitting the sport altogether. Although,


just when things


seemed impossible, there was a lucky break. Substituting for Meyrick, who had fallen during a game, put Juan Britos in front of former England team captain, Henry


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