AYMAR AND GARCIA TO MISS FOUR NATIONS

The Confederacion Argentina de Hockey (CAH ) has announced today that the highly anticipated return to training of record breaking world’s best player Luciana Aymar is to be further deferred. She will not now be joining squad training in the run up to the double four nations tournaments to be held at Mendoza and Rosario between February 10^th – 20^th. Also on hold will be Soledad Garcia who currently plays her club hockey in the Dutch Hoodfklasse league for SCHC alongside Delfina Merino who is included in the squad .

Based on a recent decision made by the coaching staff these two experienced players are the only two missing from the original 27 strong squad, selected following the World Cup, with its new additions to compensate for a number of retirements after Rosario. Both players are expected to rejoin the squad after the four nation tournaments in the run up to the Champions Trophy in Amsterdam in June later this year. This decision reflects the coaching staff’s confidence in both veteran players ability to dovetail back into the squad at a later date but also in the current squad whose debutants acquitted themselves so successfully during the series of five international friendlies before the Christmas break against the South African national team at Bloemfontein.

Thus , under the direction of Coach Carlos “Chapa” Retegui , in the Buenos Airies warmth and (sunshine with temperature 29 degrees) the squad for 2011 duly met this morning after their holiday break to be officially introduced at Centro Nacional de Alto Rendimiento Deportivo (CENARD) the Argentina National Centre of High Performance Athletics and completed a double training session. Retegui was accompanied by the newly appointed specialist fitness coach Alexander Labonia, who had been unable to accompany the squad to South Africa due to other commitments. The first day of physical training was reported to be intense , very hard and it is planed to continue over the next two weeks. Newcomer goalkeeper , Laura Aladro ,jokingly described the first day of training as “slaughter.“ The new training regime reflects a determination to raise the team’s game even higher , especially with regards to increased fitness including specific training methodology introduced by Labonia partly borrowing from his experience training male rugby professionals..

The two Four Nations tournaments take place 9th to 13^th Feb in Mendoza, and from 14th to 20^th in Rosario. Both events will feature Australia, Germany and the United States. We learn that Aymar and Garcia will return to the squad after this tournament and will take part in the set up , beginning in April, for the Las Leonas defence, in Holland, 24^th June July 3rd , of their Champions Trophy crown won in Nottingham 2010 at the expense, as in the World Cup , of the former World Champions , the Netherlands. At the morning CENARD squad training session, former national team player, Cecilia Colombo , who played two World Cups and Olympics for Argentina in the 80s was presented to the players as the new team manager. She succeeds celebrated former manager ,Claudia Medici, who decided to step down after the World Cup win in Rosario. The former player from San Fernando, will also fulfil the same role managing the national women’s youth team “ Las Leoncito” who were silver medallists at the Olympic Games in Singapore 2010

The selection currently training for the double Four Nations tournament :-

1 - Succi, Belén – Buenos Aires
2 - Aladro, Laura – Buenos Aires
3 - Simonassi, Julia - Buenos Aires
4 - D’Elía, Silvina - Buenos Aires
5 - Barrionuevo, Noel - Buenos Aires
6 - Scarone, Mariela - Buenos Aires
7 - Sruoga, Daniela - Buenos Aires
8 - Merino, Delfina - Buenos Aires
9 – Rebechi, Carla - Buenos Aires
10 – Kañevsky, Giselle - Buenos Aires
11 – Luchetti, Rosario - Buenos Aires
12 – Dupuy, Carla - Buenos Aires
13 – Sruoga, Josefina - Buenos Aires
14 – Casale, Marcela - Mendoza
15 - Sánchez Moccia, Rocío - Buenos Aires
16 – Cedres, Jimena - Buenos Aires
17 - López Basavilbaso, Ana - Buenos Aires
18 – Zuloaga, Victoria - Buenos Aires
19 - Del Frari, Natalia - Salta
20 – Cavallero, Martina - Buenos Aires
21 – Maccari, Sofía - Buenos Aires
22 – Rodríguez, Macarena - Mendoza
23 – Habif, Florencia - Buenos Aires
24 - González Canda, Rocío - Buenos Aires
25 – Garraffo, Eugenia - Buenos Aires