La Dolfina (currently named La Dolfina Sancor Seguros due to sponsorship reasons) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

team, founded by

Adolfo Cambiaso Adolfo Cambiaso (born 15 April 1975) is an Argentine professional polo player with a 10-goal handicap rating. Early years From an early age his mother, Martina de Estrada Lainez, encouraged her son Adolfo and his half brothers to play polo.

and Bartolomé Castagnola in 2000, based in the city of Cañuelas, Buenos Aires Province. La Dolfina won the most important polo tournament in Argentina, the Abierto Argentino (Argentine Open) nine times: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015, becoming one of the most successful teams since its establishment in 2000. The team also won the

Abierto de Hurlingham The Hurlingham Open ( es, Campeonato Abierto de Hurlingham) is a yearly polo competition that takes place at the Hurlingham Club The Hurlingham Club is an exclusive private social and athletic club located in the Fulham area of London, Engl ...

(considered the second in importance after Campeonato Argentino) in 2011 and 2012. After the 2007 Argentine Open, the handicap of

Lucas Monteverde Lucas Monteverde (born December 18, 1976) is an Argentina, Argentine professional polo player with a handicap of 9 (formerly 10). He grew up near the town of Veinticinco de Mayo Partido, 25 de Mayo, Buenos Aires Province, at the estancia ''El Rin ...

was raised to 10, leaving La Dolfina as the only polo team with a perfect 10-goal handicap. For the 2008 Argentine Open, the expectations for winning the championship again were understandably high, but the team was beaten in the final match by Ellerstina (lined-up by Gonzalo Pieres,

Facundo Pieres Facundo Pieres (born May 19, 1986) Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province is a professional Argentine polo player with a 10 goal handicap. As of October 2022, he is ranked number one in the world. Biography Facundo was born into a family of polo ...

Pablo Mac Donough Pablo Mac Donough is a professional polo player from Argentina with a 10-goal polo handicap. Biography Mac Donough was born in Pehuajo and began playing polo with his family at a young age. Career His career has included wins in the Argent ...

, Juan Martin Nero) by 13–12 because of a golden goal by Gonzalo Pieres in an extra-chukka. In 2013 La Dolfina won the Argentine Triple Crown of Polo which is considered the highest honor in the polo world, defeating Ellerstina in the finals of both Tortugas and Hurlingham Opens by scores of 16–14 and 18–16 respectively, then defeating Alegria by 16–11 in the most coveted Argentine Open Final at Palermo. In 2014 the team won again the Triple Crown, defeating Ellerstina in the three finals. With these victories, La Dolfina became the second team able to win the Triple Crown in two consecutive years, since Coronel Suárez (1974–1975).

Members

Uniform

La Dolfina has changed its uniform many times along the years, most of them for sponsorship reasons. For the 2002 season the team made a great impact when wearing a jersey similar to

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club Nueva Chicago."La Dolfina campeón con la verdinegra" at Expediente Chicago website
/ref> That was because Cambiaso and Bartolomé Castagnola decided to change the team colors due to its similarity with La Ellerstina's. Cambiaso, a football fan, chose the green and black because of his sympathy for Nueva Chicago although he is a River Plate fan. The green and black jersey made its debut in the inaugural match of the Campeonato Abierto Argentino on 24 November 2002. For the 2002 Abierto Argentino final match, Cambiaso made the arrangements to move more than 200 Nueva Chicago football fans to the

Campo Argentino de Polo The Campo Argentino del Polo (Argentine Polo Ground), popularly known as ''The Cathedral of Polo'', is a multi-purpose stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is currently used mostly for polo, pato and field hockey matches. The stadium, opened ...

, where they supported the team during the game against Indios Chapaleufú II on 15 November 2002. The fans gave a show never seen before in a polo match, displaying big flags, singing songs while playing drums and even throwing smoke bombs, as they usually did in a football match. The presence of the Nueva Chicago supporters in the final surprised the rest of the attendance, generating a big repercussion in the elitist environment of polo. La Dolfina finally won the game by 20-16, with 16 goals by Cambiaso, achieving its first title ever."La Dolfina se llevó el Abierto"
''Página/12'', 2002-12-15

Titles

Campeonato Argentino The Campeonato Argentino de Mayores (also known as Campeonato Argentino) was an annual rugby union competition held in Argentina for provincial teams. The Campeonato Argentino was strictly amateur, and only players from local clubs were allowed ...

(14): 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 *

(9): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 * Campeonato Abierto de Tortugas (6): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 * Copa República Argentina (3): 2006, 2009, 2013 * Copa Cámara de Diputados (1): 2006 * Abierto del Jockey Club (6): 1997, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017

References

External links

*{{Commons category-inline
Official website
Dolfina