ERROL D’CRUZ

Argentina, you’ve lost the element of surprise! A greying, thinning-at-the-top Indian fan may well say as he flashes back some 49 years.

As a schoolboy with final year exams fast approaching, he rushed home to tune in to All India Radio and listen to Jasdev Singh and Melville D’Mello conveying the transpirations on the pitch from Kuala Lumpur where the 1975 World Cup was in progress.

He had dismissed Argentina as “easy meat” and was eager to hear that his Indian heroes were devouring them!

He couldn’t believe what came through the airwaves. Argentina were leading 2-1 with only minutes to go. There was no change to the score and the final hooter left the 15-year-old dazed. It was Amsterdam 1973 all over again and a crunch concluding pool match needed to be won to make the semi-finals.

In Amsterdam it was Spain. India won 2-0 to draw a sigh of relief from their legion of fans. Here it would be the redoubtable (West) Germany, the reigning Olympic champions.

India overcame the hurdle 3-1 to enter the semi-finals and eventually make history by winning their only World Cup to date but the galling memory of defeat to Argentina would be etched in the memory.

Far from the feast that India were to partake in — as they did against Ghana whom they beat 7-0 — it was India who turned out prey to the feisty South Americans. Maybe the reported transportation of beef from home did a world of good to the Argentineans!

India take on Argentina in the 2024 Paris Olympics on Monday after scraping past New Zealand at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir on Saturday. Argentina began with a 0-1 loss to favourites Australia but there’s no expectation of easy meat this time. The Argentineans have come a long way from the 1970s when they were tagged “giant killers”, perhaps with good reason.

At Kuala Lumpur 1975, Argentina finished 11th out of 12, despite beating the eventual champions India. A year later, at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, they finished 11th and last (Kenya withdrew to support the African boycott of the Games) but beat Australia who reached the final.

India have happy memories of that encounter against Argentina. They scored the fastest goal at the Games in 15 seconds through Ajit Singh (father of Gagan, a next-generation star) on the novel artificial surface in a 4-0 opening-match victory. Revenge may have been sweet.

The Argentines appeared to not hold any grudge. They in fact brought India back into the race after the then seven-time gold medallists seemed to be bumped off by The Netherlands (3-1) and Australia (6-1). The South Americans, now nicknamed Los Leones, pulled off a sensational 3-2 win over fancied Australia to force the Kookaburras into a playoff with India.

Sadly, India failed to put Argentine oxygen to good effect and lost a humdinger to Australia in the penalty-stroke shootout.

Argentina failed to shed the tag of giant killers for a decade. Playing the 1978 World Cup at home, they achieved their highest place of eighth in the competition. But they finished at the bottom of the 1982 Mumbai World Cup and failed to qualify for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. It was only at the 1986 World Cup in Willesden, Loneon, that they gave hints of being good enough for the top bracket with a striking sixth place.

They began with a 3-1 win over three-time defending champions Pakistan and the then reigning Olympic champions. Incidentally, Alejandro Verga, father of Valentin Verga who became a star in the Netherlands team a generation later, scored a goal in that incredible result.

Argentina laboured on as a team knocking on the doors of the elite but not quite getting in there. Their both sublime and rugged style of play made them a force to reckon with. Their counter-attacking propensity, stoic defending and penalty-corner prowess exemplified by Jorge Lombi and later Gonzalo Piellat (who now dons German colours) caused circumspection in the ranks of opponents.

In the meantime, Las Leonas, riding on the magic of Luciana Aymar, dubbed the Maradona of Hockey fast became household names. The Argentine women had broken into the top bracket, won two World Cup titles and two Olympic silver medals by 2012.

The Argentinean men, however, worked resiliently and seemingly unperturbed by living in the shadows of Las Leonas.

Then came the 2014 World Cup. Under coach Carlos Retegui fortunes took a giant leap forward and Los Leones surged to third place at The Hague with a 2-0 win over England. In a pool match, Argentina drew 1-1 with The Netherlands fielding Valentin Verga. Both teams made the semi-finals and mush as the senior Verga who migrated from Argentina to escape an economic crisis, would have been proud of his son as well as his country of birth.

It all came together at the 2016 Rio Olympics in neighboring Brazil. Argentina strode the top podium in style after beating Belgium, another revelation, 4-2 in the final. Los Leones had achieved something that their celebrated female counterparts have yet to – the coveted Olympic gold medal!

Tongue-in-cheek, we discern a favour returned by India to Argentina. India, who fell in the quarterfinals to Belgium, beat Argentina in the pool match 2-1. Remember KL 1975? It was the other way around, and Ajitpal’s Indians lifted the World Cup.

Argentina of today, replete with a clutch of stars who play their trade in top European leagues, have shed the complex of being giant killers and oft-crowned Pan-American champions. Coached by Mariano Ronconi and captained by midfielder Matias Rey (206 caps) and bolstered by Augustin Mazzilli (270), Mario Casella (134) and Augustin Bugallo (131), Los Leones will attempt to make attempts for disappointing seventh at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The British brought hockey to Argentina in the late 1800s and although it is football that’s king in that land, there’s a dedicated and passionate fraternity for the ball-and-stick sport. Like elsewhere in the world, hockey is a much a family tradition in Argentina exemplified by the Vila brothers – Matias, Lucas and Rodrigo who have donned the national colours with aplomb.

Argentina’s first appearance in Olympic hockey at London 1948 and have since made 13 appearances in the men’s section. In the World Cup, Los Leones have missed just one edition, Utrecht 1998.

In the Junior World Cup, Los Leoncitos, have won the title twice – in 2005 (Rotterdam) and 2021 (Bhubaneswar) – and contribute to the senior team’s fortunes steadily over the years.

After Rio, Argentina reached the 2017 Hockey World League final but made early exits at the World Cups – quarterfinals (2018) and crossovers (2023). The teams were distraught, and that suggested the new standards set by the Los Leones who firmly target a spot on the podium.

At Paris 2024, it won’t be different. Los Leones will be gunning for gold. Make no mistake.