Agos Alonso, the analytical voice of Las Leonas
“Being a Lioness represents a lot of things”many of which Agostina Alonso He dared to speak without hesitation or doubt, expressing what was escaping through his mind, emphasizing the steps he had taken and those he still had to resolve.
Forged at Banco Nación, Alonso has breathed hockey since he was bornher parents met on a field and together with her sister, Agostina’s first idol and captain in the First Division, they paved the way that led the number five to be one of the captains of Argentina and the best midfielders in the world.
There is an unobjectionable fact that the high-performance athlete always longs to represent his country in the discipline that he is passionate about and that makes him happy to practice.but if added to that he has a legacy engraved on his chest that transcends the activity… everything increases more and Agostina told the meaning of what wearing the Las Leonas shirt emanates: “Being a Leona represents a lot of things and many values that were given to us as a legacy and that, throughout our careersWhether it lasts longer or shorter, you feel responsible for transmitting it or passing it on to the next generation. It’s knowing that I’m part of something much bigger than a hockey team.. It’s history, it’s future. The crazy thing about Las Leonas is that they always stay up. Today it’s my turn, but ten years ago it also happened, 20 years ago it happened and I’m sure that in the next ten years it will also happen because there is a lot of work, there are many girls who love sports but above all they love the t-shirt and the meaning of being a lioness; I think it’s great that it’s being created, I love it, I’m very proud to be part of it, to have been part of it all these years, and I really want to, tomorrow, sit down and watch a game, see them up there and say ‘that’s the essence of Las Leonas’, it doesn’t matter what last name each shirt has, but they are Las Leonas, whoever is there.“, he began by mentioning August.
Successism has accompanied sport since time immemorialas if the important thing were the final result instead of the learning path to reach that stage, and although the women’s team did not bring with it the medal color it wanted, it achieved number 80 in the Olympic history of the country and Alonso values it as such: “Having a medal in my house is not the same as not having one. I came back happy with having achieved what I had achieved. Obviously we came across the Netherlands earlier than we would have liked and we knew it was very difficult, but this is not to blame because The Olympic Game goes by so quickly and you have one game behind the other that it is difficult to stop for a second to think about how bad what you did was or where you failed. You are automatically thinking about the next one, over time it is easier to analyze it.”
The hypothesis about the great orange wall to be broken
Agostina is a person who conjectures and draws conclusions worth staying to listen to.however long they last, which is why he had free rein to expand on the situation that concerns Las Leonas with the Netherlands, added to what happened in Paris, and how to work to overturn old patterns that attempt to build different futures: “I analyzed it, I analyzed it a lot. When things happen like this, sometimes it’s destiny and other times it’s detail.. We could have been finer, yes, but I think that game by game we became stronger in what we had to become stronger, but we came to Netherlands… they came in to play the game they had to play and we didn’t“, one of the captains of Las Leonas began by elucidating.
“It wasn’t due to lack of concentration because we got involved, but they presented us with a game, a system that we did not know how to defend and when we were 2-0 down we entered into a system that we did not know how to reverse.. I don’t know if it was the head that gave us a bad trick or it really was a day when things weren’t going the best, that sometimes you can have it. I think it leaves us with a lesson that we have a lot of work to do.“Alonso stated.
And, furthermore, he added: “We want to be the best and we have to aim to play and compete against the Netherlands. We know that they are the rival to beat, that it is very difficult, that today they are number one and they have well deserved that place, but for me we learned a lot from that semifinal, from this tournament in particular.and I think there is a lot of work to do and the good thing is that there is potential, there are players and a ceiling much higher than where we are.”
But what is the way to try to counteract the orange power?: “It is a whole, In a match in which many things failed, the Netherlands is a country that takes advantage of your weak point and if you present two or three, you were. Even though our blocking didn’t go as well and our ball game didn’t work as well as we thought, I don’t think there’s just one way to block him.”
“We have to enter differently to play a different game. We cannot play the same as with Belgium or against Germany. I’m not a technician and I don’t know how to say what or what the key is, but I think it’s a lot of training, being more in the details, having a corner and putting it in, knowing how to defend against the best dragster in the world, which today is Yibbi Jansen. There are many details to correct, but I think there is work to do and I insist that we have the potential and the players to do it“, he stated August.
The Lionesses are an emblem in the Argentine national sportthe most influential women’s team in America and a brand that transcends any border, this means that every time they enter a court – in whatever part of the world – they are accompanied.
“Wherever we go we have fansour families do their best, but if it is not someone close, there is always an Argentine with the flag or the shirt there cheering. There are fans who always support us in all places and that is great. It speaks very well of the trajectory, of the Lionesses that were before, of the history they created and of the legacy they left us so that so many people can support us and support us like this. It’s great and makes you feel closer to home, it’s always good to enter the field and see blue and white in the stands, it gives you a lot of encouragement,” said Agostina.
A new process and the same motivation as always
August It is the only reference that remained in the country after the mass exodus after the Olympic GamesAlthough the new members of the list made by Ferrara look at her with respect, number five was in charge of naturalizing harmony in training and collaborating so that everyone feels comfortable in order to find the best version in each stimulus: “It’s a new process, so it’s great that many girls are joining in. Although the experienced ones, the great ones, are not there and I am one of the very few, it is great to be able to accompany them in their first steps. It amuses me because it is like all enjoyment, all learning. There is nice energy. The girls are the best. They are going to have fun, they are going to learn. So there is like that atmosphere of happiness at all times. You have to be very patient because clearly we don’t know each other yet, so training by training it will flow a little more, but the truth is that, having a lot of fun, taking it easy after a quite demanding year, trying to take this second part more calmly and learning from the younger ones who come with a lot of things to teach me”.
The Argentina midfielder is rigorous and her motivation, from a very young age, was to constantly improve herself but always measuring herself by her own yardstick: “If I don’t give my all in training, the rest of the day I feel bad, anguished, thinking about the ball I could have gotten, the one I didn’t run, or the goal they scored against me.. But that’s been the case since I was a girl and lived in the club. Regarding the selected team, it was never certain that I would be there, so in every list, tournament, or new opportunity, it was, ‘I want to be there and earn my place.’ The plan is not to stay the same, but to improve, because if you don’t improve, you stagnate, and the others pass you by.because everyone has that desire to grow. Everyone wants to be there, be their best vision and improve. If you don’t do it, if that doesn’t motivate you to play for the national team and wear the blue and white… I think it’s not the place for you.”said the double Olympic medalist.
The demand method is high and with it the errors become larger, but August tells how Las Leonas does internally to see opportunities where others only see failures: “There is a phrase that we repeat a lot among ourselves, that this is like tennis and if you keep thinking about the previous ball, you are going to lose the next one.. We train every day, on the same day you have 20 different opportunities to improve what you did in the previous one. So, we are lucky to be able to take responsibility for the ball we made wrong or the play that did not go the way we wanted. And you are all the time thinking: ‘well, next time I’ll improve it, next time I’ll do better’, and you demand of yourself”.
Beyond the modus operandi, the fact of dealing with frustration is often the greatest complexitybut Agostina knows that she is ‘part of a whole’ and that makes her efforts come out: “You come out being aware that you have a team that does not depend on you, that you have a team that trusts you and that you cannot keep thinking about what happened two days ago with the Netherlands, that I didn’t stop the ball or that they scored a goal. It’s like, the goal is much more important and the team is above all. So, I think that having that clear, There is no way you won’t change your mind and go out and give everything in the next ball.”.
Within the framework that covers high performance, the situation of mental health in competition is becoming increasingly louder and Alonso mentioned the tools that both teams have: “There are moments of great tension, or pressure, in sport and in life. Not only do you talk about hockey, you can go and chat with Nelly (Giscafré) who will always be available for thatto be a bra and have support. I think the boys did it with daro (Palazzo)they worked a lot last year. But it’s great that mental health in sports is more flexible now. Before it was not given so much importance, it was not talked about. The truth is that we are people first and athletes second. So first being right with yourself, and right in your head, is essential.”Sealed number five.
