World Champions Back at Work: Las Leonas Name 35 for Pro League Training Block
The party’s over. Argentina’s women went back to work on Wednesday.
Las Leonas returned to training at the CeNARD national centre in Buenos Aires, with head coach Fernando Ferrara calling up 35 players for the block that builds towards the FIH Pro League. Olé reported the session and the full group on Wednesday, noting that part of the squad is still away on European club duty.
Hard to top their last three months
Context matters here, because this isn’t any squad coming back from a break. Olé’s report sets it out: Argentina won the World Cup in August, beating the Netherlands in a shoot-out after a 1-1 draw for their third world title, then took South American Games gold in September with a 5-0 win over Chile in the final.
Most teams would still be doing lap-of-honour interviews. This lot are back doing fitness work in October, because the next cycle doesn’t wait.
The group
The names are a mix of the core that won in August and a layer of new faces pushing underneath. María José Granatto and Victoria Granatto are both in. So are Agustina Gorzelany, Julieta Jankunas, Valentina Raposo, Sofía Toccalino, Cristina Cosentino in goal and Eugenia Trinchinetti.
Among the new inclusions flagged in Argentine reporting are Máxima Duportal, Delfina Persoglia, Rocío Bianchi and Juliana Guggini. Duportal’s call-up was confirmed in regional coverage of the Paraná-born midfielder’s move to River Plate.
The full 35, as named by Olé: Milagros Alastra, Agostina Alonso, Chiara Ambrosini, Catalina Andrade, Mercedes Artola, Rocío Bianchi, Brisa Bruggesser, Sofía Cairo, Lara Casas, Juana Castellaro, Cristina Cosentino, Zoe Díaz, Ana Luz Dodorico, Máxima Duportal, Victoria Falasco, Agustina Gorzelany, María José Granatto, Victoria Granatto, Juliana Guggini, Sol Guignet, Julieta Jankunas, Emma Knobl, Sol Lombardo, Victoria Miranda, Paula Ortiz, Sol Pagella, Pilar Palacio, Delfina Persoglia, Pilar Pisthon, Lourdes Pisthon, Valentina Raposo, Paula Santamarina, Victoria Sauze, Sofía Toccalino, Eugenia Trinchinetti.
Córdoba is the target
Argentina open the Pro League season at home. The first window runs 8–13 December in Córdoba, where Las Leonas host China and Great Britain.
That’s a proper opening test, not a soft launch. China are world No. 4, Great Britain don’t travel to be polite, and the hosts will be expected to win the block in front of their own crowd. Thirty-five players will be fighting to be in the smaller group that actually gets those minutes.
For now, though, the message out of CeNARD is simple enough: the world champions have stopped celebrating. Everyone else in the Pro League should take note. Argentina’s club game had its own big week — the Selecciones double and Vélez’s promotion.
