Luciana Aymar

About Luciana Aymar

Luciana Paula Aymar (born on August 10, 1977 in Rosario) is an Argentine field hockey professional. She plays as an attacker, and is the only player to receive the FIH World player of the year award four times. She is known for her ability to beat opposing players using her strong dribbling skills, for which she has been compared with Argentine football (soccer) legend Diego Maradona.

Lucha Aymar started playing at age seven at the local Fisherton Club in Rosario, moving to Jockey Club de Rosario six years later. She began training with the junior national team, for which she had to travel every other day to Buenos Aires. In 1997 she was part of the side which won the Pan American Games Junior Championship, and a year later had her debut with the senior team, finishing fourth at the World Cup.

Aymar is part of a generation in Argentine hockey that has won several international tournaments from the 1999 Pan American Games on, including an Olympic silver medal, and two Champions Trophies. Nicknamed La Maga ("The Magician"), her outstanding performances have driven her to be chosen as the FIH player of the year four times, two more than hockey legend Alyson Annan.