If someone brings up the possibility to a team that it will claim two of the Triple Crown tournaments and then reach the final of the remaining one, that would be a tough offer to reject.
However, this is what happened with Ellerstina in 2009, and it ended up with a bittersweet taste in its mouth: The team from General Rodriguez was a clear winnner, being the best in the Abierto de Tortugas and the Abierto de Hurlingham. Its level decreased slightly in the final at Palermo, in which it faced the La Dolfina team, against which it lost the match in extra time.
From a statistical point of view, things are not discouraging, with eleven outings (only team with the maximum amount of matches played) and nine wins; the team’s two defeats came at Palermo, against Indios Chapaleufú II (13-14) and against La Dolfina in the final (16-17). In the world’s three leading tournaments, they scored 168 goals, more than any other team, and had 136 goals scored against them.
But not even these positive records can erase the disgust felt by the players of the black-shirted outfit. Talking about this matter, Facundo Pieres, the team’s No. 1, was in charge of a review referred to 2009, and he commented that “in general, it was a good year for us, in Argentina and abroad, but the bitter taste of not having won the Palermo final is still there, as that was our main goal.”
“We won here in Argentina and abroad, which is important for us, but after the final at Palermo the feelings are not very nice, but still, in general it was not a bad year.”
When asked for an analysis on the final they lost against La Dolfina, Pieres stated: “I thought it was a fair win for La Dolfina, but later I watched the video and I felt a bit annoyed, I think there were a couple of fouls nearing the end that were very unfair. This doesn’t mean that La Dolfina does not deserve to have won because it has nothing to do with La Dolfina, they, as a team, deserved to win, but I think that the last fouls were wrongly decided.”
In what refers to positive and negative things to point out about the 2009 Triple Crown, the team’s and this year’s best player said the following: “The positive part is that until Palermo we were the best of the teams, we were good in all aspects, we were absolutely a 40-handicap team in all the four positions; the negative part is that this question of the rains killed us, we were coming along with a nice rythm and that brought our team and the horses down, those things pull you down quite a bit, and another negative aspect was what I was saying about the last fouls in the final. But in all the other aspects, we can say that 2009 was a positive year.”
Ellerstina in 2009:
Abierto de Tortugas:
Saturday, September 26th
Ellerstina 10 vs. La Aguada 9
Saturday, October 3rd
Ellerstina 16 vs. Chapa Uno 12
Saturday, October 10th
Final
Ellerstina 14 vs. Pilará 11
Abierto de Hurlingham:
Thursday, October 15th
Ellerstina 16 vs. El Paraíso 8
Sunday, October 18th
Ellerstina 15 vs. Indios Chapaleufú II 12
Saturday, October 24th
Ellerstina 19 vs. La Dolfina 13
Friday, November 6th
Final
Ellerstina 14 vs. La Aguada 12
Campeonato Argentino Abierto
Saturday, November 14th
Ellerstina 20 vs. Alegría 15
Wednesday, December 2nd
Ellerstina 13 vs. Indios Chapaleufú II 14
Sunday, December 6th
Ellerstina 15 vs. Pilará 13
Saturday, December 12th
Final
Ellerstina 16 vs. La Dolfina 17
Photos by Ramón Casares, Wildlife Photography
Contact: contacto@ramoncasares.net
You can find these and many more polo images at www.ramoncasares.net
Comments
Luis
jan.09 - 01:19hs
Facundo quizás no tuvo la mejor temporada, pero igual sigue siendo a mi modo de ver uno de los mejores jugadores del mundo, perdieron en Palermo por lla ceguera de Boudou que cobró un penal inexistente a Pablo Mac Donough como se puede ver claramente en televisión y como lo vi yo con mis binoculares desde la fila 6 de la tribuna C, soportando a los amigotes del Lolo que no dejaban alentar a los que somos fanáticos de la Ellerstina, parecía la ex paqueta tribuna una reedición de Boca River, un público atroz pobló parte de esa tribuna. Incluso escuché insultos a Ellerstina y algunos comentarios despectivos sobre Facu. Aclaro que en primer lugar en mis preferencias sigue siendo La Aguada por su imagen, su polo tradicional y por tener el héroe del año que es Javo Novillo Astrada, un hombre de coraje, fortaleza espiritual, Fe y con una garrra increible, seguro que ya el milagro se produjo y el Señor lo ha curado, recen por el, por Delfina su mujer sus cuatro hijos y su familia.
Mariana
dec.27 - 14:41hs
Cambiasso un jugadorazo !!!!!! Ellerstina un Equipazo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anticipación, estrategia, destreza, corazón y garra!!!!!! Vamos Ellerstina !!!! Empieza la era de Los Hombres de negro! Qué alegría saber que tienen muchos años por delante para seguir deleitándonos con el mejor polo.
David
dec.27 - 02:35hs
Estoy de acuerdo contigo Andres. Pero lo que es indudable que Palermo es el torneo numero uno y que a la historia pasa el ganador.
Andrés
dec.26 - 17:28hs
Opino que es verdaderamente grande lo efectuado por Ellerstina y como simpatizante de este equipo, si me dieran la opción de haber puesto todo para los tres torneos de la triple corona o guardar los caballos solo para Palermo, acompañaría la primera elección. Esto es porque es importante darle valor a todos los campeonatos que son los más importantes del mundo y Argentinos. Porque estos lo son por lo que cada equipo pone en juego en ellos (sin los caballos y jugadores que tenemos de todos los equipos no tendrían esa relevancia) y finalmente, porque Ellerstina ha ganado la mayoría de esos torneos en los últimos años y perdió tres de cuatro finales que jugó del Palermo, pero en chukker suplementario, que considero en muchos casos es una cuestión de fortuna, como en la última final.