- Title: Post-'Lucha', Argentina's Leonas target elusive gold medal
- Date: 18th May 2016
- Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ARGENTINA'S 'LEONAS' FIELD HOCKEY TEAM PREPARING TO START TRAINING SESSION VARIOUS OF TEAM TRAINING VARIOUS OF COACH, GABRIEL MINADEO, GIVING INSTRUCTIONS DURING TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COACH, GABRIEL MINADEO, SAYING: "The fact that 'Lucha' (Luciana Aymar) is not here today, we must learn to play without her, she wasn't going to be eternal. The key is to know how to play without her. What she had was that she resolved things for you when they got complicated, with an individual move, pulling something out of the hat and it was something different for the opponents but well, I think Argentina has potential and the players to be able to replace 'Lucha' with another gameplan." VARIOUS OF FORWARD CARLA REBECCHI, WHO TOOK OVER FROM AYMAR AS TEAM CAPTAIN, DURING TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) TEAM CAPTAIN, FORWARD CARLA REBECCHI, SAYING: "We considered it as an objective to get the gold medal. We don't want to put pressure on ourselves but we know it's the medal we're missing and it's also a dream, we know it's difficult but we're doing everything we can... to compete at the highest level." VARIOUS OF TEAM DURING TRAINING SESSION (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COACH, GABRIEL MINADEO, SAYING: "Argentina has forwards who hurt rival teams. They have a passing game that is improving and is very dynamic and I think that's essential in hockey." MORE OF ARGENTINA HOCKEY TEAM TRAINING
- Embargoed: 2nd June 2016 15:19
- Keywords: Olympics Argentina Leonas gold Rio Games Aymar
- Location: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
- City: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
- Country: Argentina
- Topics: Field Hockey,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA0014IC5PHJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Argentina have the ability to win an elusive Olympic gold medal in women's hockey at the Rio Games despite losing talismanic, eight-times world player of the year Luciana Aymar, coach Gabriel Minadeo said.
Aymar, famed and feared for her weaving runs and dribbling skills, retired at the end of 2014 after a medal-studded career - though without ever having won a gold.
"The fact that 'Lucha' (Luciana Aymar) is not here today, we must learn to play without her, she wasn't going to be eternal. The key is to know how to play without her. What she had was that she resolved things for you when they got complicated, with an individual move, pulling something out of the hat and it was something different for the opponents but well, I think Argentina has potential and the players to be able to replace 'Lucha' with another gameplan," said Minadeo, whose team will take part in the Champions Trophy in England next month.
However, for all her achievements, Aymar never managed to add the gold medal to two silver and two bronzes she won at the previous four Games starting with silver at Sydney 2000 when the team earned their nickname Las Leonas (lionesses).
Forward Carla Rebecchi, who took over from Aymar as team captain, said they had set themselves the target of the gold medal after winning a second silver at the London Games in 2012.
"We considered it as an objective to get the gold medal. We don't want to put pressure on ourselves but we know it's the medal we're missing and it's also a dream, we know it's difficult but we're doing everything we can ... to compete at the highest level," Rebecchi told Reuters after a practice at the Cenard national athletics training centre in the capital.
Minadeo believes Argentina can take that final step without Aymar, who retired midway through an Olympic four-year cycle after winning the team's fifth and her sixth Champions Trophy on home soil in Mendoza.
There was no discernible slump in the team last year when they won the world league and they are now building strongly for Rio.
"Argentina has forwards who hurt rival teams. They have a passing game that is improving and is very dynamic and I think that's essential in hockey," said Minadeo, who picks his squad from the local amateur championship and nurtures them towards a higher level.
Argentina may, however, still miss the dribbling runs that earned Aymar the epithet of the Maradona of women's hockey and were often a key to the team's successes.
Minadeo said the newer members of the team were being put through a crash course in matches so that they go into the Rio tournament with plenty of experience of top competition.
They started the season with six friendlies against touring New Zealand in the Atlantic seaside resort of Mar del Plata in February-March.
This was followed by a tour of Belgium and Germany in April, friendlies at the Olympic venue in Rio in May and another trip to Europe for the Champions Trophy in England from June 18-26. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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