Camilo Castagnola, better known as Jeta, celebrated his 19th birthday on Monday, December 13, 2021. But he received two early gifts: on Saturday, December 11, he won his first Argentine Open with La Natividad, and on Sunday, December 12, his handicap was raised and he became the youngest 10-goaler in history, surpassing previous records set by Adolfo Cambiaso and Facundo Pieres records. It was a very well deserved achievement for the forward, a young boy who has outwitted many seasoned players.
“I feel so happy right now,” Jeta told PoloLine, after the epic final at Palermo.. “This has been our dream since we started coming here with our dad when we were kids. This has been our goal since we started playing polo, and today we made it. I’m very happy for us, for my family, and for all the people who support us day in and day out. This is really great.”
“I have a big group of people behind me, I don’t want to forget about anyone,” he continues. “The vet, the boys who help me everyday. You really see that they love the organisation, you notice it. And the people who work with Barto, we all get along very well. So, I want to share it with all of them. I also want to dedicate this to one of Barto’s grooms, Mariano Valent. It’s his birthday and I want to celebrate it with him.”
La Natividad played a fantastic match against the legendary Adolfo Cambiaso and his La Dolfina Saudi. They showed attitude and determination over a team that has left their mark on the history of polo. According to Jeta, there was no plan at all: “It is something that just happened,” he says. “We agreed that we had to take the man, and we didn’t play with fixed positions; it simply just happened.”
Jeta takes time to remember how La Natividad came up, a team that became an instant sensation when they qualified to play the Argentine Open. They ended up being the only team who attracted enough people to fill the grand stands on Palermo’s number two ground,.”Nachi was playing in Palermo and suddenly he came over and talked to us about a long time project,” says Jeta. “Fortunately luck has been on our side, and it has worked out well.”
“I will celebrate with my family, with the boys and I’ll enjoy it,” Jeta concluded, on the day he will remember forever. “We are now going to enjoy something that doesn’t happen every day. I now have a month to relax. I have had a very long year. I started in Palm Beach and I have not been back here yet, so I am going to try to relax as much as I can.”
La Natividad has confirmed that the lineup will remain intact in 2022.