The excitement of 15 Lions who will see the shirt with their surname for the first time

SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO (Special Envoy) — Making a very big dream come true must be one of the wishes that any athlete has when they start the activity from a very young age with so much passion. This Tuesday, December 10, will not be just another day for several Lions and Lionesses. who are beginning to take their first steps with the Argentine shirt. The stage will be the Pro League of Santiago del Estero and the rivals, Germany and England, respectively.

Maybe his legs were shaking. Matias Rey when on July 22, 2006 he stepped on the field for the first time with the Albiceleste jersey in the Champions Trophy in Terrassa against the Netherlands. Ten years later he would win the Olympic gold medal, in an unprecedented act. Maybe tears won Majo Granatto when on January 26, 2013 his life was going to change forever after making his debut with Las Leonas in a South American match against Peru. 11 years later they find her in Argentina as a reference for a renewed team and with an Olympic silver medal and another bronze medal plus a runner-up in the world in her successful list of joys.

The truth is that 15 new names (10 Lionesses and 5 Lions) add to the rich Argentine history of this century with that same intact vibe that Rey and Granatto felt and still fill them in every training session, every concentration, every anecdote, every goal hug, every bitter drink in defeat and every cry to get back up. As Agos Alonso told AM850 Hockey: “Being a Lioness is a lifestyle.” Fact that also fits for men. This was reflected in these first days by the two groups that have the honor of representing Argentina at home.

Only the Artola family, Ambrosini, Férola, Knobl, Falasco, Alimenti, Bruggesser, Larsen, Pisthon, Santamarina, Domene, Andreotti, Ruiz, Correa and Bonanno know everything they waited for this day. The nervousness, the disbelief in the previous night of training was there. But there was no shortage of laughter, complicity, music, photos and hugs. Because if hockey is about anything, and even more so with the amateurism it continues to have, it is the joy of sharing a passion and doing it with someone who feels the same as you. Because as the Bersuit Vergarabat song says: “Life loses its grace for those who forget to celebrate.”

From Ushuaia to La Quiaca, from the Cordillera to the Río de La Plata, more than one girl woke up one day and said: “I want to be a Lioness.” More than one wanted to play alongside Mati Rey or dreamed of scoring Pájaro Mazzilli’s gold goal or Sofi Cairó’s bronze goal and hugging with his friends to reach eternal glory. Santiago del Estero will be the place. They will provide hockey. Welcome. Welcome.