The Lionesses and the difficult task of overcoming the defeat against the Netherlands to go for bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: “We have to let go”

“We lost, that’s it. Now we have to focus on the next game and win it”. That phrase Fernando Ferrara was repeated in the voice of each one The lionessafter the 3-0 defeat against Netherlandsfor the semifinals of the women’s field hockey tournament Paris 2024. The Argentinians were very hurt by the new loss against a rival who has been in six Olympic Games, spoiling their party, because they had come with enormous enthusiasm. It was noticeable in the frowning faces, in the tears and hugs shared on the field as soon as the final whistle unleashed the Dutch celebration, and in that “I’m destroyed” that she even uttered. Agustin Gorzelan before breaking. But Argentinian women know very well how to get up after a hard blow and that was the consensus of the entire team: to cry, forget and go out with everything to fight for the bronze.

“Defeat hurts us all, but we have to let go as soon as possible and think that a bronze medal and a podium are not the same as nothing. The thing is that you realize those things when you are older.” There you learn to value it. My goal as a team leader is to try to convince the girls that this is the case and that they are 100% ready for the next game. This group deserves a medal for all the effort they made to get here. “, analyzed the coach Fernando Ferraraanticipating the duel they will play this Friday for third place against Belgium, which lost 3 to 2 (1-1) with China in the other semis.

There was also consensus when it came to explaining the reason for the defeat. Without making excuses, they accepted that the Netherlands was superior. This was what was seen in an orange-tinted Yves-du-Manoir Stadium stadium, with just a few light blue and white spots. Likewise, although the Dutch were many more, the Argentines always made themselves felt. So much so that when shortly before the game the “Or let us swear with glory to die”many fans of the European team were amazed and looked with their eyes to where so many voices were coming from, singing in unison those stanzas that have long been a rallying call for national athletes.

The start was even, but Argentina worried so much about taking care of the goal in the first quarter, that they “forgot to play,” as they admitted. Agustina Albertarrio. The Netherlands went, went and went until in the second quarter, the weakest of the Lionesses, scored two goals in five minutes and put the match on track. And at the start of the third he added one more and almost sealed the story. Almost, because those led by Ferrara showed their best side in the last period, in which they were able to enter the semicircle more (the outstanding debt of the first half) and had three penalty corners, although they could not take advantage of them. And in the end, it wasn’t enough for them.

It was the sixth consecutive defeat of the Argentines against the Netherlands in the Olympic Games.. The Europeans had already beaten them 4 to 2 on penalties in the Athens 2004 semifinals; 5 to 2 in the semifinals of Beijing 2008; 2 to 0 in the London 2012 final, one of the defeats that hurt the Albicelestes the most; 3 to 2 in the quarterfinals of Rio de Janeiro 2016 and 3 to 1 in the final of Tokyo 2020. The team in the orange shirt has been the nightmare of the Lionesses for 20 years. But so many disappointments never managed to break the spirit of the national team.

“Obviously the first feeling I have is sadness. But I don’t want to stay with that feeling, I want to stay with the team that we were the entire second half, going for it until the end. We had to face the last Olympic champion in a semifinal and world championship, the best team, and we gave them a fight,” said captain Rocío Sánchez Moccia.

And he added: “This may not end here. Today we can cry, but on Friday we will go out with our heads held high to go for a medal. We have to fight for bronze and it is no small feat. We have a lot to give, we deserve to take home a medal and not leave empty-handed from this great tournament we did. That bronze is going to be our gold.

With their heads held high, they also left this Tuesday, after taking a kind of “Olympic lap” in small groups, some hugging, others with wet eyes, to greet the Argentine fans who, scattered throughout the stands, had cheered them on all day. game. But they not only received recognition from their compatriots, but also from the thousands of Dutch people who stood up to applaud them.

The dream of gold is over, which will remain absent, at least for four more years, in the Argentine women’s hockey medal table. A medal table that, likewise, is the envy of many, because he has three silvers, those of Sydney 2000, London 2012 and Tokyo 2020; and two bronzes, those from Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. And that represents the validity of a team that has been in the elite for more than two decades.

“We value it a lot. Since those first Lionesses, valuing every moment and every medal has been passed on from generation to generation. The effort we make for the shirt, training every day and what we give up to be part of this is transmitted. team. It seems that the Lionesses make it easy, but it is not easy at all. Today we are here and we have to appreciate it. We lost again with the best but we are going to leave on Friday with the bronze,” reflected Sánchez Moccia.

“When I was one of the youngest, the older ones told me that I had the whole road ahead of me. Today I have to do the same with 18 or 19 year old girls. We have to lift their spirits and make them understand that a medal is a lot. For There are those who cannot understand it, but if an Olympic medal is at stake, with what costs us everything, we have to go out and give everything,” reflected Albertarrio.

How do you quickly forget about this tough defeat and focus on the “final” they will play on Friday? For Cristina Cosentino it is a matter of not letting defeat eat away at their minds.

“We must not lose confidence. It was a game. We had played six and won them all. That does not mean we were the best, nor because we lost this one are we the worst,” said the Argentine goalkeeper, who had been a hero in the penalty shootout. in the quarterfinals against Germany and he also had some good saves against the Netherlands.

And he closed: “It hurts because we came to look for the gold. That was our goal. But we have to stay whole because in two days we are going to be fighting for something important. We know what we play, we know how capable we are and we have to maintain the same level of trust.”