Magui Aicega: Las Leonas' spirit, her Stone side and a Dani Osvaldo tale | OneFootball

Leona, through and through. Born on November 1, 1973, in Buenos Aires, María Magdalena Aicega became the legendary defender and captain of the Argentine National Team, who are once again chasing a World Championship against the Netherlands.

Beyond her legacy on the field, she is also actively working as a nutritionist and sports journalist, something she touched on in a relaxed chat with Rincón Stone, the interview series hosted by Daniel Osvaldo in a production by Olé and La Canchita.

-Seriously, are you a Stone? Are you really that into the Stones?

-No, honestly. I think out of 100 T-shirts I own, 80 are Stones shirts. I’m a huge fan of them and their merch. But it’s not that I’m crazy about the music. I’m a fan of the band. Of them, yes. I can’t understand how they’re like that. Their whole image. I love them.

-Did you ever go see them live?

-I went in La Plata. Yes, of course. I think he’s amazing. Maybe if you mention a certain song, I might not know it that well. But... I know them. I’m not saying I don’t, but maybe I’m more into others. I love Los Piojos, and with them I can give you everything.

-And any other band you like, from here or abroad?

-Internationally, I really like Bruce Springsteen. And U2. I mean, there are several I like. Those are probably the ones I like most. But then there are other bands I listen to too.

-And Indio, Los Redondos?

-Yes, them too. When I was younger, I had their whole discography. But I never went to one of Indio’s concerts. Back then I also had a lot of competitions, a lot of commitments, so I didn’t really have much time.

-Fan of? Can you say it or not?

-No, I can’t, let’s not say it.

-You can tell me later.

-I’m a sports journalist. That’s why—not because of you, but say the opposite side. It doesn’t bother me, I mean, my kids are River fans and everything, and I go to the stadium. But the reality is that when you work at so many stadiums, you know what football is like here. It’s like if you support one team, then you can’t be objective about another.

-You can’t be straightforward, right...

-For example, you say, yeah, I don’t think Boca played well. “Oh, that’s because you’re a Gallina.” I say River didn’t play well. “Oh, that’s because you’re...” You know what I mean? So they don’t accept criticism.

-Right, and you’re like, why would I care? You’re working...

-You’re working, it’s like you detach yourself. Then later I go as a fan. Yes, I go, I enjoy it. In fact, it can even happen that it’s exactly the opposite—that because you’re a fan of a club, you can actually be much more critical of it.

-Different emotions come into play there.

-Look, since I was an athlete myself, criticism... I can tell you whether I think a team played well or badly. You say... No, I wouldn’t be more critical just so someone else thinks... When you’re on the radio, like when I’m with Martín Ciccioli, I talk with Martín, who’s a huge River fan, you try to put yourself in a different place so it doesn’t turn into a partisan show.

-Right, you push back a little...

-The truth is, when you work, you always try to be very objective. Then, like everyone else, you go to a stadium and enjoy yourself. It’s part of the culture. That’s how you live it, I don’t know. I also understand football culture, but I can’t understand why people can’t see that you work objectively. No matter who you work for.

-What happens to me is that when I listen to sports journalists who used to be athletes, it’s like you also see it—the criticism lands differently, or the message...

-Obviously. Because it’s not the same if it comes from a journalist who never played. Sometimes you take it badly. I always say this: in journalism, sometimes they tell you it’s better when you give your opinion because you were an athlete.

-So you have a perspective—not better or worse, I always say just different.

-I remember once, I go to Boca’s stadium a lot because I have to work there, and I was walking in and all the Boca fans were coming by and looking at me, saying, yeah, you played for Las Leonas. And I laughed, you know? Then of course there’s always going to be someone who curses at you or says something, but I think since I’m not partisan, it’s not like I work for one specific... I do sideline reporting and I do it for every club. In fact, when you prepare for a match—if I get Lanús, Riestra, Barracas, whoever—that match, I want them to win. Think about it: I prepared for it all week, you know? So in those moments I’m a huge fan of those players.

-You get there and they lose every game. Then they start calling you bad luck, of course...

-But you’re like, come on, let them win.

-Yeah, that’s extra pressure.

-Yes, exactly. But that’s how it is, you know? You pull away a little from being a fan, and when you work, you work.

-And did you always like football when you were a kid, or is that something that came later with your profession, let’s say?

-No, I always liked it. You always liked it. In fact, at home my dad’s side are Estudiantes fans, and my dad was born in Balcarce and lived in La Plata, that’s why he became an Estudiantes fan, and my brother is a die-hard fan. And my dad used to play pelota-paleta at Platense. I remember when Platense and Estudiantes played, they’d sing, “El Pincha and El Marrón, one single heart.” They got along well. And I remember my dad taking me to Platense’s stadium and I’d go watch him play pelota-paleta and then stay at the stadium. And I saw Palermo make his debut at Estudiantes.

-Today there’s so much... And there was back then too... You miss things, you know

-I think back then too we had... Every team had a number 10 who was brilliant, and the good players stayed in Argentine football much longer. Nowadays they leave younger and younger. One appears and he’s gone.

-Right, you’re not around elite players day to day either

-So I think that’s partly why players from that era are more romanticized. I remember once we were at Cenard with Las Leonas, and I was always the one who went to football matches. I remember one time the Vélez players were there and I think... Look, I remember Morigi was there. And I look at him and say, “Girls, that’s Morigi.” And they say, “Who?” I say, Morigi. And they say, who? “Morigi.” And also, of course, I remember Turco Asad was there. Right, a little more well-known. And I say, “That’s Morigi.” And the guy waved at me.

-And your teammates didn’t recognize him?

-No, and on top of that none of them were Vélez fans. I knew who he was—not because I was a Vélez fan, but because I watched football. I remember the guy waved at me and I laughed.

-Going back to Las Leonas, are you at all aware of what your national team generated?

-The truth is, it’s wonderful because of how much the sport grew, because before hockey belonged to a very small niche. It’s still a small niche, but it grew enormously. Nowadays, I always say the most beautiful thing that happened to me through hockey is that before it was seen as a very elitist sport—which is true, not because we were all rich girls, because that wasn’t the case. We were middle class, we had access, we could afford a hockey stick and go to a club.

And after Las Leonas, when you go to any province and see places that are really from very low social classes, and you see all the little girls dressed the same with their hockey sticks, you think... It makes you a little proud. At that point you say, that’s it. I won.

I won, of course. Yes. I swear, you say, that’s it, we already won. And they never won an Olympic gold medal. I don’t even care. I mean, of course I wanted to win it. Yes, I wanted to win everything. Yes, of course. But the truth is, you see that and say, that’s it. When hockey is everywhere, when everyone has access, because that’s the reality. Then the sticks became... Today you have domestic brands, there’s much more access, in schools too... Yes, like maybe they also opened up a market or gave a lot of people jobs. Totally.

That’s what it’s about, because really it’s simple. The more players there are, girls and boys, the more chances you have for talent to emerge. Right, so that you have talent to play for the national team. And it’s a sport that today is still amateur.

-That’s kind of a thorn in your side, let’s say... that it’ll never be professional at club level.

-No, no, because I think it’s not...

-Because the money isn’t there. Not because there are a lot of them, and the reality is that today with Las Leonas, yes. Las Leonas is more professional. Obviously, if you ask me, can you make a living from hockey? From hockey specifically—today the whole situation with Cenard and all that is pretty complicated—but can you make a living from hockey? Yes, because you’re 20 years old and you don’t have that many expenses. Now, if you mean like a footballer who has to support a family, no, you can’t. Today the girls can live off hockey.

-In what sense?

-Obviously they study, because you know you never know how long hockey will last. Today you have a scholarship, tomorrow you don’t because the coach dropped you, because you got injured, whatever the reason. So you have to study. But today you also have social media, which helps a lot with income too. Some more, some less. The better known ones, obviously, can even earn much more.

-So everything... let’s say, do you all cover your own costs?

-Yes, yes. You pay your club dues, like everyone else. You play hockey, and if you play well and have the chance to be on the national team, all the better. We had a scholarship that in our day helped with gas. At least I lived with my parents and my dad supported me, and I tried to have my little treats. I studied. I graduated with a degree in nutrition. Then I studied sports journalism because, like I said, before, if women wanted to get into football, people looked at you like, what are you doing here? So it wasn’t even really on your radar. But then when I retired, I was already prepared for what was coming.

-How old were you when all the success of Las Leonas started?

-25 or 26 years old. Very young.

-And the travel, was all that covered by the delegation?

-Yes, all that, yes. In that sense, yes. All of that is covered by the Association, and obviously more by the Confederation than the Association.

-When that translates onto the field, when you face the Netherlands or the major national teams, does it have a lot to do with it?

-At first you say, I want to compete with these powerhouses. Then you realize and say, I don’t have even a quarter of what they do. Here they started doing things differently from what had been done before. I’m talking about before 2000, and that different work. We went to tournaments, everything from that period. That’s why I’m telling you, the processes are super important. You know, since you’re from football, you know that processes kind of don’t exist. Because even though everyone knows they should, they don’t. We were very professional from our own point of view, even without the financial side, and very mentally strong.

-I don’t know. We were that kind of generation. We didn’t have... It just happened, let’s say it happened humanly, by chance. Today a little girl grows up and says, I want to be like Las Leonas. I want to be like that national team from back then, but... If they didn’t have a reference point... No, we had the national team, but it wasn’t what it is today. And well, all that started to change, and the results started to show, that’s how Argentina began to grow. Olympic finalists in 2000. In 2001 we reached the Champions Trophy, which was a very important tournament. The six best teams in the world. A brutal tournament. I think for hockey it’s... It’s the toughest. You don’t get an easy opponent. The Netherlands, Germany, China, they were all top teams. Australia...

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.