BHUBANESWAR: It was the letter that threatened to shake the entire foundation of Argentinean men’s hockey. “Nuestro paso al costado es porque nos traicionaron, nos minteiron en la cara, nos faitaron el respeto y nos dejaron expuestos ante una situacion inmanejable.” (We are resigning with immediate effect as they betrayed us, lied to us on the face, disrespected us and left us exposed).
Those were the exact parting shots fired by Agustin Mazzilli and Gonzalo Peillat at the direction of Argentine Hockey Confederation (CAH) in the last week of March. On Thursday, seven months and two days since Peillat and Mazzilli posted the jointly-issued letter on social media, they formed the fulcrum to down Spain 4-3 in a chaotic game. It was, in a way, representative of the upheaval that could have crippled the Olympic champions if that conflict had seen a different outcome.
It all began with the seemingly innocuous resignation of former coach Carlos Retegui. He stepped down, citing a lack of energy to lead the national side after more than four years of being in charge. “I am sure that new projects will come where I can rekindle my fire,” he had said then. “I only have word of thanks to the players, and the family of world hockey.”
Happy tears were shed as the players and their former coach exchanged pleasantries. Retegui, an immensely respected man within the hockey community, left with his head held high. Trouble, though, had already appeared in their rear-view mirror. The 48-year-old Retegui, who was coaching former football international Carlos Tevez, performed a miraculous u-turn six weeks later, returning as Argentina’s coach.
This move perplexed many because the confederation had earlier indicated they wouldn’t go back to Retegui. This was why Mazzilli and Peillat posted identical-worded letters. It opened what seemed a long-festering wound between players and the management. “If I had known this (resignations of Peillat and Mazzilli) would happen, I would not have come,” Retegui said. “The players wanted me to come back, so I came back.”
“No player on the team called for Retegui to come back. That is totally false,” Peillat fired back in another interview. Looking back at the ugly episode, the 26-year-old can only manage an exasperated sigh. “At the moment, the confederation is not capable enough of managing these issues. That’s why we have massive problems every year,” Peillat said.
The drag-flicker delved deeper into why Mazzilli and he did what they did. “I wasn’t happy just to have him again... So my decision was that. That’s why Mazzilli did what I did.” It was repackaged by the media as player power — the confederation appointed German Orozco after downgrading Retegui’s role to U-21 manager — but Peillat explains the logic behind his move. “We disagreed with the position he took (to come back). Some weeks ago, he had said he was resigning because he did not have the energy. How can you go back to the guy who says ‘I am ready to be coach’ weeks later?”
Former international Orozco, appointed shortly before Champions Trophy, said getting the group to refocus was a big challenge. “It was our hardest job. We all know that this is a very good team with superb individual skills. They are all smart players. So we tried to talk with them to try and come to an arrangement. We hope that we have done well. When I started, the team was in one mood (negative). Now they are in a different mood (positive).”
The irony wasn’t lost on Orozco when he tried to explain the mess he had inherited. “The difficult part in all the problems the players have... I was not involved, so I am trying to take part in something that I didn’t create.” The good news for Orozco is that they are beginning to put the mess behind them. The World No 2’s style — even during their victorious campaign at 2016 Olympics — had revolved around soaking up pressure before relying on Peillat’s deadshot accuracy from set-plays. Orozco’s philosophy was wildly different. “We have tried to work a bit more on our offensive way, having at least more than one player inside the D when we are attacking,” he said. Against Spain, 50 per cent of their goals came from open play. Guess who scored them? Mazzilli. Guess who scored from two penalty corners? Peillat.
Holders Australia face Ireland challenge
Seeking a hat-trick of titles, defending champs Australia begin their campaign against Ireland in the hockey World Cup here on Friday. The World No 1 Kookaburras will start as favourites against 10th ranked Ireland in the Pool B match. Australia have won the World Cup thrice — 1986, 2010 and 2014 — and they have been a dominant side in world for quite a few years now.
Co-captain of the side Aran Zalewski (in pic) said they were taking the opportunity as a “challenge”. “This is completely a different group. We have now got 10 guys making their debut at World Cup. For us as a team, this is our first real chance of winning a World Cup as a group. We are not taking it as pressure but as a challenge,” he said.
Kiwis edge France
New Zealand pipped France 2-1 in its opening game of the Hockey World Cup at the Kalinga stadium here on Thursday. After a goalless first quarter, Kane Russell scored for New Zealand in the 17th minute. As France failed to convert opportunities in the later part of the second quarter, the Kiwis enjoyed a 1-0 lead at half-time. Later, a long pass from midfield was well controlled by Stephen Jenness, who made no mistake in finding the back of the net, making the scoreline read 2-0 in New Zealand’s favour with just four minutes of play left. It seemed France wouldn’t be able to open its account but Victor Charlet converted a penalty corner in the 59th minute to make the score 2-1.