After receiving approval from the FIH, midfielder Lucina von der Heyde was introduced as a new member of the German national team
Compartir:
The Argentine midfielder Lucina von der Heyde has closed her time with Las Leonas and has been confirmed as the new player for the Germany national team, a change that has had an impact on women's field hockey. The move will take effect starting in March, after the formal approval of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
The announcement was made through the official social media accounts of the DANAS, as the German national team is known, which welcomed her by highlighting her international career, sporting achievements, and current form. "Welcome, Lucina! In accordance with the FIH's approval, Lucina von der Heyde is eligible to run in the DANAS jersey starting in March 2026", they posted.
La imagen que compartió la cuenta oficial de las DANAS
Meanwhile, Von der Heyde replied with an enthusiastic message: "From day one, both the team and the coaching staff gave me a warm welcome and made me feel at home".
The decision of the player from Misiones was directly linked to her departure from the Argentina national team after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. As she explained, the lack of drafts from coach Fernando Ferrara led her to feel that she was no longer part of the sporting project. "After Paris a new process was put together and I understood that I was not the player the coach wanted for his team", she stated.
Von der Heyde acknowledged that this situation had a strong personal and sporting impact. "My sporting career declined a lot because I said, maybe this is the end of my international career. I had become very sad", she confessed. She also questioned the way in which the decision was made: "He decides (NdR: referring to the Argentine coach Fernando Ferrara) maybe to remove me from the list knowing that I was playing in Europe and not giving me the time he had told me".
Von der Heyde dejó de jugar con Las Leonas después de los JJ.OO. de París 2024
Having lived for years in Germany and holding that country's passport, the midfielder found there the possibility of continuing to compete at the highest level. "It was a very difficult decision, which took me almost a year. But in Germany they showed me that they wanted me and they made me feel very good", she maintained. She will have to comply with the regulatory period of three years without representing another national team, which will be completed on March 6, with the expectation of making her debut in June if she is included in the squad.
Reactions in Argentina
On the Argentine side, the news was completely surprising. Ferrara acknowledged that the news was not expected and sought to focus the message on what lies ahead. "Now we are focused on what is coming, with the players we have who, fortunately, are many, and we have as our objective qualification for the World Cup", he asserted.
In the same vein, Agostina Alonso, a Las Leonas player, stated that the decision was personal: "It clearly belongs to Luchi (von der Heyde) and we do not like it". "She knew that at the time of the drafts we are asked to be in Buenos Aires. She is based in Europe and has her life there, perhaps in order to compete internationally she has to do so for another national team", she added.
Ferrara no se esperaba esta decisión
She also denied any kind of exclusion: "I know that there has been a lot of talk that this team doesn't want her and that is not true".
Von der Heyde's case recalls a striking precedent in Argentine hockey. Gonzalo Peillat, Olympic champion with Los Leones in Rio 2016, also chose to represent the German national team after a conflict with the management and the coaching staff. Now, a similar story is once again shaking the Argentina national team, this time on the women's side.
