In harmony

Of the eight teams that took part in last season’s most important open tournaments, only a handful had the direction required, reports Héctor Martelli

Let us compare a polo team to an orchestra, composed of four musicians directed by a conductor. Now, imagine if that orchestra didn’t have a conductor to keep those musicians in time. Naturally, each musician would play in his or her own time and be out of sync with the others. The same often occurs in polo, with each player playing his own game, rather than as part of a team. Teams with a conductor, in contrast, play in a more balanced manner, whether they are winning or not. With this in mind, here is my analysis of the eight teams that battled for the high-goal trophies in Argentina.

La DoLfina Here are four big names who all know exactly how to interpret a match, even though, in this case, the conductor – their coach – was not on the field, but in the ponylines. Last season, the team worked together considerably better than before, and they deserve their 40-goal handicap. ELLErstina They have never had a conductor – and really need one. It was thought that Aguerre, when he joined the team in 2012, would fulfil that role, but that proved not to be the case. Their play can be summarised in a phrase: all for Facundo and Facundo for no one. As Gonzalito and Aguerre were not on point, this formula was very evident on the pitch. At the same time, Nicolás didn’t continue what he started in 2012, when he established himself in the No 4 position. There is no doubt these are four excellent players, but they should become independent and not lean on Facundo. They should play as a four-man team, and not be a one-man show. After this performance, I consider there to be more than a two-goal difference with La Dolfina.

aLEgría When this team was formed, it was thought they only wanted to gain handicap, because they had two No 1s (Pieres and Mannix) and two No 2s (Ulloa and Monteverde). With this level of enthusiasm, ability and effort, they ended up with two conductors, with the middle players alternating in that role and allowing the team to reach their objective of being Sub Champions 2013. That central role allowed Polito Pieres – awarded Best Player in the final – to stand out and Mannix to shine at the back. The two goals awarded to the team were well deserved.

La aguaDa The great conductor of this team was Miguel Novillo Astrada, who once again reached a deserved 10 goals. The team was due to participate in the three open tournaments with 34 goals, but played Tortugas with 33 because Javier could not participate. After the first Hurlingham match, when Ignacio was injured and du Plessis stepped in, the team’s handicap was lowered to 31. However, in spite of this modest

opposite The winning team with coach Milo Fernández Araujo this page, clockwise from top left Eduardo Heguy, Miguel Novillo Astrada and Marcos Di Paola

successfully. The players completely followed their objectives, and deserved to go up a goal and reach 34. The question is who in particular should have gone up, since the accomplishments of the individual players were barely over their handicaps.

MaguaL Magual worked without a conductor but, despite this, to extend the analogy, were never out of tune, with García Huidobro and ‘Negro’ Di Paola playing in perfect harmony. Toccalino deserved to reach 9 goals and his phone must now be red hot with tempting offers.

ChapaLEufú Chapa’s return to the high goal saw Eduardo Heguy in the conductor’s role. In my opinion, he is the second-best Argentine No 4 after Nero. Considering his great work, one question remains: Did he deserve 9 goals? I’d say he did.

handicap, they lost only in the extra chukka against Ellerstina in Palermo, and played a great game against La Dolfina in Hurlingham. Terrera, Miguel and du Plessis deserve their higher handicaps.

La nativiDaD It was thought that in their second season, and with Caset, this team would improve their earlier performance, but that didn’t happen, and they completely lacked direction. The forward, perhaps because he didn’t receive many clear passes, did not stand out. Neither did Nachi, whose horses didn’t reach the necessary level to play the best polo in the world. Rodrigo played a very isolated game and not without reproaches from his teammates, but in general played well. Lolo Castagnola showed eagerness and strength, and even though he is still a good back, he is far from being the player we saw in La Dolfina. In these circumstances, the team benefited from the decisions made by the Handicap Committee, and in my opinion, their handicap should have gone down by at least one or two goals more.

La aguaDa Las Monjitas In this team, Eduardo Novillo Astrada fulfilled the role of both musician and conductor