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. And he doesn’t err: he is champion again, adding another great title to his already over-brimming saddlebags. Once again Adolfito is the determining factor in an important match; a defining match.
Does the situation seem. familiar? Of course, because of the outcome of the 2005 Argentine Open. But it’s not the case. The story, this time, is about the 2007 United States Open. The outcome, in fact, was very similar. And it’s always the same one that wins. That year, he got off with his fifth crown at Palermo; this year, his fourth at Palm Beach.
Crab Orchard is, with Dolfi in the lead, the new polo monarch of the United States. A team which presented itself–as opposed to the other 13 that took part in the championship– with a 27 goal handicap. Only one or two more than the rest. But even before the start, it was the great favorite, even though it had to give one or two goals handicap at the start of every game. The explanation is simple, an eight letter word: Cambiaso. And his ponies/aircrafts, naturally.
One of Cambiaso’s adversaries in both finals had to swallow his spleen as he was made to 16 months before, when Ellerstina fell at the hands of La Dolfina at La Catedral. “He took a chance and was lucky…”, Pablo Mac Donough mumbled between his teeth at the pony lines, unable to hide his anger and disappointment. By this, El Gurí was understood to mean that Cambiaso had put his stakes on a certain play taking place, and which actually occurred. Champion’s luck? It exists; of course it exists. But even that kind of luck must be helped along.
Dolfí accompanied the play relying on a team mate that is one of those faithful squires; moderate profile, who work in mid-field: Matías Magrini. And indeed, did he rely on him…! because in the throw-in next to the boards, mid-way up the field, the ball remained between the Cordoban player and two opponents, and Cambiaso shot off forwards to await the passing shot. That trust gave fruit, because his Nº 2 not only hit the ball hurried on by the man who was marking him, but he hit it straight in the direction of his team leader, who, being alone and close to the end of the field, had only to run forward and put the ball through the opponents’ goal posts.
Do you remember the climax of the decisive match at the Palermo Open two seasons ago? Adolfito benefited from a badly executed penalty shot by Matías Mac Donough–yes, Pablo’s elder brother–in mid-field: he swing round and escaped towards the Libertador goal posts. That time it wasn’t that he took a complete chance out of the blue, because the owner of La Dolfina did not take chances in order to do that, but there certainly was a decisive contribution put there by chance. Which Dolfi made the most of, because he was mounting Jazmín, the mare that spun around and accelerated like a sports car towards the golden goal. Not for nothing did Rubén Sola, its owner, lend her to Cambiaso and to none other. And when all is said and done: luck must be helped along.
And what are we aiming at when talking of luck? To the fact that in part, Pablito was right when he said that Adolfito had taken a chance and been lucky. But explanations must be sought far beyond that for this ‘moment?’ of implacability by Adolfo Cambiaso. It is, strictly speaking, much more than a ‘moment’, although neither is it a ‘period’. Let’s call it a ‘time’, then. This ‘time’ of Adolfo Cambiaso’s is a monopoly. From 2005 (year in which the new La Dolfina made its debut) until now, he twice won the Argentine Open as well as the Queen’s Cup; he won the Hurlingham Open; the United States Open; the British Open and the República Argentina Cup as well as many tournaments that are not as famous as those but which to more players than one are very desirable, such as those that complete the American Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales Trophy in England; the General Manuel Belgrano Cup in Coronel Suárez… Wherever he puts his name down, he’s the favorite. “If I put my name down, I want to win”, he says.
But the heading of this article does not read “the time of Adolfo Cambiaso”; instead, it is about the United States Open, the most recent conquest by the man from Cañuelas. He obtained it a week after his 32nd. Birthday and six seasons after his last participation in the National championship of that country, when he closed a run of three consecutive titles in row. Since then he had not won that tournament; but he had only played it once (in 2002 when he fell 11-10 at the hands of the future Coca-Cola champion, lead by Miguel Novillo Astrada). The already then leader of La Dolfina had been hired by Austrian magnate Eric Koch, a businessman dealing in precious stones and owner of businesses in South Africa, to play only practice matches. Yes training games, while almost all other high level professionals were competing for the glory of winning the most important event on the American calendar. But this is a subject we can go into later, because it is related in a way with the definition of the tournament.
This tournament deserves no less than a proper presentation: it was the XCI United States Open Polo Championship, which took place between late March and April last, at the Palm Beach International Polo Club (I.P.C.) in Wellington, Florida, with 14 teams of 25, 26 and 27 goal ratings, and divided into four groups that included 28 Argentine regular players. Many of the Buenos Aires Triple Crown participants took part in the competition that puts an end to the Palm Beach season, which also includes the C.V. Whitney and the U.S.P.A (United States Polo Association) Gold Cups.