The Cecilia Rognoni who became Leona in Sydney 2000

25 years from 2000 Cecilia Rognoni talks about a medal, but stripped of it. The silver one that was hung in Sydney, the gold one that he achieved in Perth, They remained as anecdotes of the most significant tournaments he played with Argentinabut what was learned by reaching the top -and also by going through the depths- They were part of a series of memories brought to light, without prefaces, only using the messages harvested by the soul. to narrate what happened up to here.

25 years of Sydney 2000 is not a slogan to remember, a moment to portray what happened and think about what we experienced. At the beginning of the century in Oceania, something that had been brewing for decades was decreed and could not find the relevant way to become material. The Lioness, the one who was born in Australia, is present in every dream and space of the albiceleste territory. It is a way to feel sport, a fundamental piece in the essence of Argentine culture, that spread so far that it is difficult to quantify its end and, many times, its beginning as well.:

“Sometimes it’s a bit unfair to say: ‘Las Leonas was created this year’ because there was a lot of past work that is not recognized, But those of us who were there know who was before us and the things that were done. So I also take advantage of this moment to thank all of them, because they pushed us, from our place, at that moment, to create what we create and achieve that turning point”.

Learn from mistakes, continue without giving up, with a true purpose: be the best version possible. Cecilia Rognoni arrived without filming and after the worst suspension of her careerwhich had affected her in all areas of her life, Sydney 2000 was the place to settle:

“If I go back to that moment, I started training with the team a month before traveling to Sydney and he came from a very harsh suspension. That year made me grow and learn, when I learn this and it’s not that I said: ‘I already learned, ready’… I prepared differentlybecause I needed to be strong and convinced of what it was, because the entire floor had moved. In a second I lost everything I had“.

The defender was off the field for a season due to an altercation with a referee at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg.where her entire career was left up in the air, she had to return to her center and thus try to emerge again: “I looked for options, what were they? Ready, training with men, because they didn’t allow me anything else, and not just anyone can give you that rhythm.”. I was willing to face those types of situations, They taught me a lot on a personal level, a lot on a human level, but they also helped me grow athletically.. Then I get to an Olympic Games where I was out of sight all year and I am doing very well, on a physical, technical, and mental level, but, above all, and more important than those three things, I am doing very well on an emotional level.”Rognoni stressed.

Upon her reintegration into the competition, Cecilia had to start using the tools she had learned and temperance was essential to adapt the fervor of her game with the restrictions of the regulations: “I was a duchess. I knew that in Sydney they couldn’t send me any because it was under everyone’s scrutiny and anyone who didn’t know what had happened was going to find out.. I couldn’t, nor did I want to, because I learned. I think you learn from mistakes, but I was struggling and To go between cottons you have to be a little higher up because you can’t send yourself the same one you always send yourself or a mistake. No, you make a mistake and you have to recover, but you can’t even touch someone.”.

The feat of the sacred, with the fire in sight

To forge the Lioness in image and likeness, they had to go through the greatest storms and when everything seemed lost, or on the verge of withering, the unbreakable embers emerged that united the generations of recent decades… and those yet to come.

“I remember that in the Olympic Village we had our little apartments. One next to the other, the typical one that they send you to the last of everything, and the good thing about that is that we were one street away and in front of us we had the stadium and we saw the Olympic flame, I mean you got up and went to bed with the llama“, Ceci put together.

“We were on that street and there started to be a commotion I said, what happened here? and there was (Luis) Ciancia and Cacho (Vigil) at that moment and well, we started to find out of as? and? but what happened? And me, the truth is that the only thing I asked was How is it? How many points do we pass? zero, perfect What do we have to do to reach the final? win the three games, a draw leaves you out and I heard that and said ready: We won three games, what’s the problem? I thought it to myself, I didn’t say it at that moment with the shock”.

Having overcome as a team the challenge that lay ahead of themand with a Lioness drawn in their hearts, the team reached the final with the spirit of victory and Cecilia has two flashbacks recorded from that date: “I have two memories from the final, maybe my teammates are going to bitch at me, but hey, they’re used to me. Before the game there were people who were already happy because we won the silver and that’s good, but I think that if we had aligned our energies to want the gold… I don’t know what would have happened. Australia was unbeatable, but I wasn’t afraid of it. I don’t think they have relaxed, don’t misunderstand, but my teammates know what I mean, that is, we needed to go for the gold.“Rognoni asserted.

And, furthermore, he ratified his position regarding an error that has not yet been forgiven: “That is my feeling, that is what I remember today, that is one and the other that they scored a goal against us, that they had told me to defend it in a way and I didn’t do it and they scored a goal against us and I haven’t forgiven myself for it to this day.but well, I took a gamble with what I thought I was going to be able to defend and I was wrong.”

Although stories and memories predominated in the talk with the former defender, she also took the time to talk about the current Las Leonas and a curiosity with her favorite of the current ones: “I have to admit that I am a fan of Juana (Castellaro). The first tournament that appeared surprised me and I said, Who is this little girl that I don’t know? I started to find out and in the end I am friends with the mother. I corresponded with Andrea (Morello). ‘Listen to me, is this your daughter?’ Very funny, it’s divine”.

But not only was she left with adulation and followers on the networks, the historic number 16 got involved with those who reside in the Old Continent to create links that transcended borders: “Two or three years ago there were several of the Lionesses playing in Europe, in Belgium, and I told them, ‘Everyone come home to eat’. Those who can. And they came. I’m trying to give back things, I don’t know if to the sport, but to the players, to the athletes. Every time I can, I get closer. From any place where I can contribute, I am more than open to that. Just as people identified with us, we now identify with them and we want them to do well.”

There is something that lasts in her and in each one who became aware of the sacred fire that unites them all, the fact of belonging to something greater, an invaluable legacy that has no end.: “I have heard one of my friends say it, that we are enjoying much more now than we enjoyed at that moment, realizing what we generate. Know that it is our place too. “It was, it still is and I am grateful to have been part of that process, and of that moment of Argentine hockey,” settlement ceci.