Brothers united guide Argentina
How does it feel to have your own brother as your boss? Ask Argentina’s assistant coach Jorge Lombi. In a country obsessed with soccer, Jorge followed his elder brother Pablo into hockey. They played together as teammates in the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and at Atlanta four years later, and are now guiding Argentina as coaches at the Hockey World Cup here. Their aim obviously was to improve upon Argentina’s best finish of sixth in 1986 and 2002, but the South Americans slumped to three successive defeats before registering their first win in the tournament against New Zealand on Sunday. They will be hoping to beat Canada in their last match to maintain hopes of finishing in the 7th-8th bracket.
Pablo, who played as a defender, is 40 years old and Jorge, their best-ever drag flicker, is two years younger. Both are working together for the last couple of years as coaches, Pablo as the chief coach and Jorge as his assistant, helping the drag flickers. So how do the brothers manage the show?
“We are very close to each other and like to work together. We discuss things and plan together and there are no problems. I enjoy working with Pablo and it has been a good experience till now,” said Jorge.
Brothers do argue with each other and even fight, but Jorge says there is no such situation between them. “He is the boss, he has 14 years of coaching experience while I have only four. But I have played more years at the international level. I give my inputs and viewpoint during discussions but his decision is final as he is the chief coach,” said Jorge. The junior Lombi adds, “Technically, we do bring two different viewpoints from two different countries. I am settled in Spain and he lives in Argentina. I pass on to him the latest information I pick in Spain and he tells me how things are working in Argentina.”
Brothers united towards one cause, did anyone say.