Argentina won the South American Championships without losing a match. Both Finals were against Host Chile. Argentinean women won 4-0 and the men 4-3.
The South American Championship was played at the Stadium of the Catholic University in San Carlos de Apoquindo, with magnificent views of the surrounding mountains, and the participation of Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay and Uruguay, in both the women’s and men’s events.
Teams played first a round-robin, with the two top teams advancing to the Finals, the two following playing for bronze and the last two teams playing for the fifth and sixth place. Six days of competition, with six games per day, gave the fans plenty of opportunities to watch hockey.
There were many vibrant moments and surprising results. Teams gained experience along the tournament, progressively balancing play.
Argentina’s supremacy was overwhelming, especially on the women’s side, but Chilean teams played a strong tournament and earned their place in the Finals, easily for the men, with more difficulty for the women who had to battle hard with Uruguay.
The Chile vs. Uruguay women’s match was probably the most exciting of the tournament. On the men’s side, it was the game between Uruguay and Peru, with Peru winning 1-0.
Uruguayan women got the bronze after beating Brazil while Brazilian men got a historical bronze when beating Peru.
Participating countries had their specific aim at this tournament; while Argentinean and Chilean men used this tournament as preparation for the World League Round 2 in Rio de Janeiro, Las Leonas played with a young team on the road to Junior World Cup, giving the technical staff a good chance to assess the squad while players were gaining international experience.
Brazil men and women teams keep working towards Rio 2016 and every tournament is a chance to gain experience and skills for their big goal to be allowed to participate in the Olympics.
Peru, who still do not have a synthetic pitch at home, are eager to gain experience and take as much benefit as possible from every opportunity to play international competitions.
Paraguay will experience a big change after their synthetic pitch is ready. National Teams will have a place to train and prepare for regional and international events.
Uruguay ended right behind Argentina and Chile on the women’s side, but could not achieve the same results with the men.
The South American Championship came to the end. Next South American will be during the ODESUR Games in Santiago de Chile in 2014.
WOMEN
Player of the tournament: Agustina Albertario (ARG)
Goalkeeper of the tournament: Inge Joanna VERMEULEN (BRA)
Top Scorer of the Tournament: PAULA INFANTE (CHI)
Fair-Play: PERU
MEN
Player of the tournament: Guillermo SCHICKENDANTZ (ARG)
Goalkeeper of the tournament: Felix MAFERETTI GUTIERREZ (PER)
Top Scorer of the Tournament: LUCAS VILA (ARG)
Fair-Play: PERU
