Las Leonas renewed and with a confirmed list for the Pro League

The last call of the year has arrived for The Lionesses. The Argentine women’s hockey team will conclude the season with the start of the Pro League 2024/2025 and Fernando Ferrara announced the list of 24 players who will travel to Santiago del Estero to compete from December 10 to 15 (with Disney Plus Premium transmission). The roster has several surprises, among them, 10 who will have their debut with the Major.

Surprise or reality? The Paris Olympic Games marked an obvious before and after in the plans of Ferrara and his coaching staff for the new Las Leonas process. And this event was clearly seen in the election of the new players who are part of the first list for an official tournament.

The work in the youth teams in recent years was key in the names that appear of several that are part of the current list. Some acquaintances of the current coach who selected them to be part of the Under 21 World Cup in 2022 and who are already part of the base of the squad, such as Valentina Raposo, Juana Castellaro and Sofía Cairó. Others from that same Junior squad who make their first appearance as Brisa Bruggeser, Paula Santamarina and María Emilia Larsen. One that was also already in the Major and returns as Catalina Andrade. All of them forged together Mercedes Artola, Victoria Falasco, Valentina Férola and Zoe Díazthe following year, the youth world runner-up with the duo Juan Martín López and Sofía Maccari in Chile and will be in Santiago del Estero.

It will also be the time of new faces in offensive matters such as the case of Catalina Alimentithe scorer of GEBA and Metropolitano 2024, or that of Chiara Ambrosinithe young defender who broke the networks with Ferro for her first promotion to the highest category of the Metro and recently passed through Las Leoncitas. In addition, she is a current partner of Lourdes Pisthon and Emma Knoblcurrent youth players who will have their debut.

Although the list of names seems to be far from what Paris was due to the number of new features, Of the 19 that traveled to the Olympic event, 13 names are repeated. The leaders of the squad such as Cristina Cosentino, Sofía Toccalino, Agostina Alonso, Agustina Gorzelany, María José Granatto, Eugenia Trinchinetti and Julieta Jankunasin addition to the aforementioned Díaz, Cairó, Raposo and Castellaro, will travel alongside Valentina Marcucci and Victoria Miranda who had gone as reserves. Agustina Albertario, Clara Barberi, Victoria Sauze, Rocío Sánchez Moccia, Pilar Campoy and Lara Casas are those who do not repeat the call from the podium in the French capital.

Strong names that will not be there, some due to injury, others due to technical decisions and others perhaps due to a logical generational issue to try new alternatives. The truth is that the Netherlands, no less, and Germany, will be the contenders for the enthusiasm of the young promises of Las Leonas that appear to rejuvenate a successful base with Fernando Ferrara at the helm whose main milestones were the 2022 world runners-up, the 2021-2022 Pro League championship and the bronze medal at this year’s Olympic Games, among other achievements.

The complete list of Las Leonas