The Argentina National Field Hockey team also known as the Los Leones (The Lions), represent Argentina in international field hockey competitions. The team is governed by the Argentine Hockey Confederation (CAH). The Los Leones currently sit on the second spot of the FIH rankings with 1883 points, going into the world cup 2018.
The Argentina national team are the powerhouses of the Pan-American Federation and completely dominate the region. They have been doing exceptionally well internationally too in recent times, as the team reached new heights under former coach Carlos Retegui. The closest nation from the PAHF is Canada at the 11th spot with 882 points.
History
Hockey has been played in the country since the beginning of the 20th century after it was introduced by the British citizens. The Argentine Hockey Association was formed in 1908 and it saw the formation of several hockey clubs like Belgrano Athletic and San Isidro Club. It is also important to note that the Hockey Federation allowed affiliation to women teams in 1909, one year after its inception. In fact, the nickname “Los Leones” is derived from the women’s hockey team that played in the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, Australia.
The current Argentine Hockey Confederation (CAH) was founded on 19th June 1983, after 12 hockey associations decided to meet in the city of San Miguel de Tucuman.
Achievements
The Argentina National team is the most winning team in the Americas with nine gold medals in the Pan American Games, six South American Championship titles and three Pan American Cups.
Success however evaded them at the international level, until the arrival of coach Carlos Retegui who himself was a part of the team from 1989 to 2006. Immediately upon taking charge of the team, he led the Los Leones to a bronze medal finish at the 2008 Champions Trophy. He went on to win another bronze medal at the 2014 World Cup along with numerous success at the Pan-American level. By 2015, the team was ranked fifth in the world rankings, a historic high for them. However, they were not finished creating history as they went all out to win the gold medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics by defeating Belgium 4-2. It was the first medal in the Olympics for the Argentina hockey team, let alone the first gold medal.
Squad
The team called up for the very last edition of Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy in July 2018 is given below, which will be replaced by the Hockey Pro League (HPL) next year.
| Pos | Name | DOB | Caps | Club |
| GK | Juan Manuel Vivaldi | 17/7/1979 | 240 | Banco Provincia |
| GK | Tomas Santiago | 10 | La Gantoise HC | |
| DEF | Gonzalo Peillat | 12/8/1992 | 136 | Mannheimer HC |
| DEF | Juan Ignacio Gilardi | 14/11/1981 | 158 | San Fernando |
| DEF | Pedro Ibarra (C) | 11/9/1985 | 249 | San Fernando |
| DEF | Isidoro Ibarra | 2/10/1992 | 34 | KHC Leuven |
| DEF | Nicolas Cicileo | 1/10/1993 | 4 | Club de Campo |
| DEF | Agustin Bugalio | 23/4/1995 | 27 | Mitre |
| MF | Santiago Tarazona | 31/5/1996 | 23 | GEBA |
| MF | Matias Paredes | 1/2/1982 | 322 | Ducilo |
| MF | Ignacio Ortiz | 26/7/1987 | 112 | Real Club de Polo |
| MF | Juan Martin Lopez | 27/4/1985 | 256 | Banco Provincia |
| MF | Matias Rey | 1/12/1984 | 165 | Real Club de Polo |
| FW | Maico Casella | 6/5/1997 | 24 | San Fernando |
| FW | Joaquin Menini | 18/8/1991 | 93 | HC Den Bosch |
| FW | Lucas Vila | 23/8/1986 | 207 | Mannheimer HC |
| FW | Nicolas della Torre | 1/3/1990 | 38 | HC Den Bosch |
| FW | Lucas Martinez | 17/11/1995 | 26 | HC Oranje-Road |
Support Staff
Coach: German Orozco
Assistant Coaches: Tomas MacCormik, Matias Vila
Manager: Juan Pablo Hourquebie
