x9

Argentina

By: Hernán Alvarez Macías

He has been chosen in the top 10 young men players in the world by the FIH for the second consecutive time. Even tough this is more than an achievement; he does not seem to delight receiving awards. He is Matias Paredes, a member of the Argentinean national male team.

The Argentinean male team doesn't have a nickname like the female team, "Las Leonas" (The Lionesses). Instead, they have to fight against some comparisons with the world champions and world-ranked number 1 Argentinean girls. The guys are not in the top positions of the international scene, but they have been improving little by little over the last few years. Argentina played last men's Champions Trophy in Amstelveen and ended up in the fifth position after beating number 1 world-ranked Germany in the last match.

Paredes's original club was Ducilo of Buenos Aires in Argentina, but now he is playing for the Netherlands's Larensche Mixed Hockey Club. He lives in Laren, a town near Amsterdam and he seems to enjoy his living with the Dutch. We talked with Paredes about his national team and his current hockey moment thinking about 2003 and the promising 2004.

HA: I guess you feel good being among the nominees for the FIH Young Player of the Year.
MP: Sure, I'm very proud of being between the top 10 young players in the world. That makes me realize I'm going the right track; and I must continue training to keep improving my game.

HA: Why do you think you were selected in this elite "club"?
MP: I think this was a very good year for me. I was lucky to score the goal in the Pan-American Games final and I think I performed a good Champions Trophy tournament. It's also very helpful to play in Europe where people can see you playing much more than in other regions. Hockey is much more popular in Europe than in Argentina; and in the Netherlands the passion for field hockey is almost as big as the passion they have towards soccer. And that made me become more popular.

HA: What is the evaluation about the Argentinean national team in 2003?
MP: The appraisal is very positive because our main objective was to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games, to win the golden medal in the Pan-American Games that gives the automatic passport to the Olympics. That was one of our goals and we could make it.
Speaking about the Champions Trophy, our objective was to rise one step in the world ranking list and we made it ending in the fifth position in the competition (Argentinean men are currently in the seventh place in the chart). As you can see it was very positive and now we are very excited about next year and the Olympic Games. We will have a lot of matches and competitions before Athens 2004, so I think we will reach the Games in a very good condition. We will be able to fight for a place in the semi-finals in this tournament.

HA: What else do you need as a team to keep climbing in the international scene and become the world's number 1 as the Argentinean women's team does these days? I believe the comparison with "Las Leonas" is almost unavoidable.
MP: I consider that even tough we play the same sport, there's a huge difference between men's hockey and women's hockey. In men's hockey every top-8 team can beat each other and the competition is actually fierce. Of course, I don't want to underestimate what the Argentinean women team does, which is really valuable, no doubt about it. However, we are talking about two very different things.

HA: But we can say you must be handling some kind of pressure to equal the outstanding position the Argentinean women have in the world.
MP: Yes, of course. We are somehow eclipsed by "Las Leonas" who really deserve the place they achieved in the international panorama. Nevertheless, we must try to make our own way; we must not compare ourselves with their team. We must train and keep pushing hard. I think that if we keep doing things as we have been doing so far, with good training sessions, we can obtain some good results. It's also an important advantage to have many players competing outside Argentina because the game level where they play is very high.
What do we need? I think we need a little bit of everything. I suppose we must convince ourselves we are able to do great things. That would be very helpful for us. I consider we have some remarkable quality players; we have five players among the very best ones in the world. So, I think it's somehow about having more self-confidence. We must say "Yes, we can do it!"; adding good training certainly.

HA: You have the Olympic Games next year, but which are the other competitions that you aim to?
MP: We have an Australian tour prior to Athens 2004. We have the America Cup in Canada that set places for the next World Championship. Then we have the Panasonic Cup in Germany that we already played these last years.
We also have a European tour and we will be training 15 days in Spain before the Olympic Games. Apart from the Olympics, the most important competition is the America Cup, but Athens is the most important date in the year for sure.

HA: And in personal terms, which are your objectives for 2004 after this great 2003?
MP: My main goal is to assist to the Olympic Games. I missed the Sydney games and now I want to be in Athens in the best possible shape and I hope our team succeeds.
I'm not really interested in personal achievements because this is a team game. Certainly every time I receive a personal award I feel glad, but the important accomplishments are the team's.

HA: Are you going to play in Argentina or are you coming back to play in the Netherlands?
MP: I will go back to Europe in March and I plan to stay for two months and then I'll come to Argentina, but it depends on the dates. I have to talk with the coach about the dates because there are some days when I have matches with my Dutch club that coincides with commitments with the national team.
I will be playing in the Netherlands. I feel very good living there and they have the best club hockey in the world, so there's no better training than playing there.

Rate This Article

Select Here  5 Stars  (Best Rating)   4 Stars   3 Stars   2 Stars   1 Star  (Worst Rating)

Your opinion counts.
Rate this article or enter your comments below.