Majo Granatto: “The freshness of the new girls will do us good”

“On the court I am going to be the same Majo as always. And outside it’s going to be spectacular. We are going to share with a lot of new girls. That freshness is good”. María José Granattoa reference of The Lionesses In recent times he chatted with AM850 Hockey about the immediate: the start of the 2024/2025 Pro League with its initial series in Santiago del Estero.

“I am very happy to be here again with this team, training here at CeNARD. It is very strange when you are playing outside. But hey, it was a very long year. Sometimes we laugh with the girls and say to each other: ‘This year it was Paris.’ I mean, it was a long time ago, a lot of time passed in the middle”Majo began. The 10 of the team led by Fernando Ferrara was part of the emotional roller coaster that 2024 meant for a large part of the current squad. The bronze in Paris, with the passage of time, is valued more, after perhaps the frustration of not being able to play for the gold medal, the great desire of a long time in Argentine women’s hockey.

“At the moment one obviously has enormous sadness and frustration because we leave everything and go away empty, looking for the best, the best possible result. Maybe you can’t see it clearly at the time of losing a semi-final or at that moment, but now that several months have passed, the truth is, you give it a lot of value for having brought one of the few medals to the country that We had and that Las Leonas are always up there, it is a merit to highlight”Granatto emphasized. And he added: “It is something that really makes our chests inflate, we are very proud of that and it is what we build day by day.”

Almost without unpacking his suitcase after the Olympic event, he went to Spain to play for Barcelona Junior together to his sister Victoriaa gratifying fact. “It’s lovely. We really enjoyed playing together. It is something that comes naturally to us, sharing the field and not only the field, but everything that is day to day, living together, going to the club and now also training at Las Leonas. We greatly value the time we have together and not to mention doing it in the National Team. It is a dream come true that we have. Having the opportunity to do it again is worth taking advantage of and we are taking advantage of it”he said about it.

As time went by, the role of the number 10 of the Albiceleste team grew, not only on the field, but also outside. And with the dance of new names and the freshness of many debutants, the mix that this Pro League window will have will be one to pay attention to. “Yes, the truth is that the team is completely renewed. Obviously with already experienced players who have been playing together for a long time, we can add our experience from our side. I think it is very good to have this role, which we have been having for quite some time. There is a very big generation change, a lot of new girls who are very young. Today it is my turn, together with Agos (Alonso), to be one of the greatest in this Pro League,” she stressed. And he added: “Today you have 35 players training, anyone can play, anyone is up to the task, so I think the level of players here is growing a lot and there are more and more, so that will always level up.”.

Immediately the great cuckoo appears again, Netherlands. The multi-time champion and rival that Argentina always wants to beat. Also, there will be Germanyqualified for the World Cup after being runners-up in the Pro League and eliminated at the hands of Las Leonas in the quarterfinals in Paris. In this regard, Majo commented: “It’s beautiful to be able to end the year like this. It’s spectacular. We are very happy to be able to do it. Obviously we are in a moment of preparation. We want to win, because every time we put on the shirt we go out to win. But, the team is under construction, there are many new concepts, so it is key to be calm, to be patient. The series is going to be very good for the group ensemble. That the girls who are debuting enjoy it and can begin to know what international hockey is. It’s taking a step forward in a lot of things. Being able to end the year in Argentina and with our people is going to be ideal.”

To close, to the question of which Majo Granatto we are going to meet, he responded: “On the court with the same as always. That brave Majo who is going to leave everything, always joining a team with a lot of things to learn. It is a constant challenge that we have, it keeps you active, alert and always at the best level to help the team and make sure we do in the best way. Outside it’s going to be spectacular. We are going to share with a lot of new girls. We will never get bored, because we know all the anecdotes about those of us who already know each other. This freshness is going to do us good.”