Lucas Vila
Personal information
Full name Lucas Martín Vila
Born (1986-08-23) 23 August 1986 (age 37)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight 75 kg (165 lb)
Playing position Forward
Senior career
Years Team
0000–2005 Banco Provincia
2005–2006 Harvestehude
2006–2007 Banco Provincia
2007–2010 Tilburg
2010–2012 HGC
2012–2013 Orée
2013–2014 Den Bosch
2014–2015 Kalinga Lancers
2014–2015 Club de Campo
2015–2017 Real Club de Polo
2017–2020 Mannheimer HC
2020–2021 Leuven
2021–2022 Benalmádena
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2023 Argentina 274 (87)
Medal record
Men's field hockey
Representing  Argentina
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2014 The Hague
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Team
Silver medal – second place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team
Pan American Cup
Gold medal – first place 2013 Brampton
Gold medal – first place 2017 Lancaster
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Santiago
Champions Trophy
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Rotterdam
South American Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Asunción Team
South American Championship
Gold medal – first place 2013 Santiago
World League
Silver medal – second place 2016–17 Bhubaneswar Team
Junior World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2005 Rotterdam
Pan American Junior Championship
Gold medal – first place 2005 Havana

Lucas Martín Vila (born 23 August 1986) is an Argentine former field hockey player who played as a forward.

He made his debut for the national squad in 2005, after having played the Junior World Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He played a total of 274 times for the Argentina national team until 2023. His older brothers Matías and Rodrigo were also field hockey players for Argentina.

International career

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Vila competed for Argentina in the men's tournament.[1] Lucas won the bronze medal at the 2014 Men's Hockey World Cup and three medals at the Pan American Games. He was part of the Argentinian squad, which won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2018 he was selected for the 2018 World Cup which means he has played in four consecutive World Cups.[2] He scored 1 goal in four matches in that tournament.[3] In July 2019, he was selected in the Argentina squad for the 2019 Pan American Games.[4] They won the gold medal by defeating Canada 5–2 in the final.[5] In December 2019, he was nominated for the FIH Player of the Year Award.[6] After the 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup he retired from the national team.[7]

Club career

Vila started his career in Argentina at Banco Provincia. In the 2005–06 season he played for Harvestehude in the German Bundesliga.[8] In 2007 he moved to the Netherlands to play for TMHC Tilburg, which he left in 2010 to play for HGC.[9] He missed a big part of his first season at HGC because of a knee injury.[10] After two seasons with HGC he went to Belgium to play for Royal Orée before coming back to the Netherlands after one year to play for HC Den Bosch.[11] After one season with Den Bosch he went to Spain to play for Club de Campo. He left the club from Madrid also after one season to play for Real Club de Polo. With Real Club de Polo, he played in the Euro Hockey League.[12] In 2017 Vila transferred to his current club Mannheimer HC in Germany.[13] After three seasons in Mannheim he made a move to Leuven.[14] On 20 August 2021, it was announced he would leave Belgium to play for Spanish second division side Benalmádena.[15][16]

Honours

Club

HGC
Real Club de Polo

International

Argentina
Argentina U21

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Lucas Vila". 2012 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  2. ^ "LOS LEONES SE EMBARCAN HACIA LA COPA DEL MUNDO DE INDIA". cahockey.org.arg (in Spanish). 18 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  3. ^ "VILA Lucas". tms.fih.ch. International Hockey Federation. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Los Leones Que Buscarán La Clasificación Olímpica en Lima". www.cahockey.org.ar (in Spanish). Confederación Argentina de Hockey. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Los Leones, medalla de oro en hockey de los Panamericanos". www.pagina12.com.ar (in Spanish). Página/12. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Manpreet Singh nominated for FIH Player of the Year award". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Lausanne: The Times of India. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Lucas Vila anunció su retiro de Los Leones" (in Spanish).
  8. ^ "Harvestehude stürzt Spitzenreiter - UHC mit herber Pleite" (in German). Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  9. ^ Rippe, Hessel. "1e elftal Hockeyclub Tilburg loopt leeg". omroepbrabant.nl (in Dutch). Omroep Brabant. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  10. ^ "HGC'er Lucas Vila start met revalidatie". hoofdklassehockey.nl (in Dutch). 3 February 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  11. ^ Dikkers, Pim (15 May 2013). "HC Den Bosch haalt Lucas Vila". bd.nl (in Dutch). Brabants Dagblad. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  12. ^ "Polo's Lucas Vila finally tasting EHL action". ehlhockey.tv. Euro Hockey League. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Mannheim make huge signing as Vila moves to Germany". ehlhockey.tv. Euro Hockey League. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  14. ^ "Transfert : un Vila à Heverlee". okey.lalibre.be (in French). 17 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Refuerzos De Lujo Para El CHP Benalmádena". rfeh.es (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Hockey. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Transferts : Jay et Lucas à Benalmadena". okey.lalibre.be (in French). 21 August 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.

External links

Argentina squads
Categories