Brazilian 7-goaler, Joao Ganon
Argentina and polo have gone together hand in hand since midway through the 1870s, but it would be another 50 years before it took root in Brazil, and it’s been gaining ground ever since.
The appearance of Brazilian high-goalers Rodrigo Andrade and Joao Ganon in 30+goal play in Argentina put the spotlight on some of South Americas other stars, and it wasn’t long before they showed up in the United States.
In 2011 Brazilian 8-goaler Rodrigo Andrade was a member of Marc Ganzi’s championship USPA Piaget Gold Cup team with 10-goaler Gonzalito and Nico Pieres, only to return in 2012 to play with Melissa Ganzi’s Piaget foursome. In 2013 Andrade lined up alongside another 10-goaler in Pablo MacDonough on Steve Van Andel’s Orchard Hill entry and continued to impress. You can count on seeing him return to the International Polo Club for the 2014 season.
Seven-goaler Joao Paulo Ganon was the Brazilian next high-goaler to recently appear on the US polo scene. He was a member of the 2001 14-goal World Championship Brazilian team (played in Australia) and played in the 2001 Coronation Cup against England and in the 2002 Roberto Cavanagh Cup against Argentina.
Currently playing with Alessandro Bazzoni’s Cinque Terre team at the Greenwich Polo Club in the 2013 Tommy Glynn Memorial Cup, Ganon has garnered compliments from teammates and opponents alike, making a big splash in his North American debut. In Cinque Terre’s first game he scored five goals and tallied another seven goals in their second match, and three in their last outing.
Cinque Terre (Alessandro Bazzoni, Gringo Colombres, Joao Ganon and Brandon Phillips) takes the field on Wednesday against Airstream (Peter Orthwein, Kris Kampsen, Guille Aguero and Mariano Gonzalez) in the semifinals of the 20-goal 2013 Tommy Glynn Memorial Cup.
With the East Coast Open in the offing, we’re going to get another look at Ganon with speculation putting him on either a 20-goal or 26-goal team at Wellington’s International Polo Club this coming winter.