The Cathedral of Polo has a new champion. On Saturday 11 December at Campo Argentino de Polo in Palermo, Buenos Aires, La Natividad beat La Dolfina 15-13 to win the 128th Argentine Open, ending a long period of dominance by Adolfo Cambiaso’s team.
How it was won
La Dolfina led for much of the final, but La Natividad came back to take the title. Camilo Castagnola, only 18, scored the decisive goal with about a minute and a half left. Barto Castagnola and Camilo each scored six goals, and Barto was named Most Valuable Player of the final, receiving the Gonzalo Heguy Trophy. For La Dolfina, Cambiaso scored six, three of them penalties.
La Natividad was Camilo Castagnola, Polito Pieres, Barto Castagnola and Ignatius du Plessis. It was the club’s first Argentine Open, in only its third season at the top level, and the first for both Pieres and du Plessis.
The end of an era
La Dolfina had dominated the tournament since 2013, so this result turns a page. The same team had beaten them in the semi-finals of the Hurlingham Open in October, so Palermo showed it was no fluke. La Natividad had also won Hurlingham, which means two of the three Triple Crown titles went to the Cañuelas side this season, with Ellerstina taking the Tortugas Open.
Looking ahead
For a sport that sometimes gets labelled as predictable at the top, this season has been a refreshing counter-example. Younger players, led by the Castagnola brothers, have beaten Cambiaso’s La Dolfina in the final.
It has been a good year for the sport in other ways too, with international events returning and crowds back at the grounds. We will start 2022 in St. Moritz, where the Snow Polo World Cup returns in late January, and in Wellington, where the new season is not far away.
Sources: Prensa Polo, La Nación
