Gonzalo Peillat (born 12 August 1992) is an Argentine-German field hockey player who plays as a defender for German club Mannheimer HC and for the Germany national team. In 2015, Peillat was awarded the FIH 2014 Rising Star of the Year.
He ended his Argentina career with a total of 153 caps and 176 goals and he is also considered as one of the greatest Argentine field hockey players of all-time. He represented Argentina in field hockey from 2011 to 2018 before switching his allegiance to Germany as of 2022. His girlfriend Florencia Habif is also a field hockey player.
Club career
Peillat played for Club Ferrocarril Mitre in Argentina until the 2014 World Cup. After this tournament, he wanted to improve his play so he transferred to the Netherlands to play for HGC. During the 2014 Dutch winter break he played his first season in the Hockey India League for the Kalinga Lancers and in the 2015 Hockey India League played for the Uttar Pradesh Wizards. After he became topscorer in the 2015–16 Dutch hoofdklasse season with 33 goals, he transferred to German club Mannheimer HC. In the 2016 and 2017 German winterbreak he again played for the Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the 2016 and 2017 Hockey India League. In the 2018 winter break when there was no Hockey India League, he played in the Malaysia Hockey League for Terengganu Hockey Team. In April 2018 he renewed his contract for Mannheim for another three years until 2021. He also participated in the premier division hockey league in Bangladesh for Mohameddan Sporting Club.
International career
Argentina career
He was part of the Argentine squad that emerged as runners-up to New Zealand in the final of the 2012 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He was included in the Argentine field hockey squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics and he also made his Olympic debut during the 2012 London Olympics. He was the top goalscorer for Argentina during the men's field hockey competition during the 2012 Summer Olympics with a tally of four goals and Argentina bowed out of the competition with a tenth place finish. He was the top goalscorer during the 2012 Men's Pan-Am Junior Championship with 15 goals and Argentina eventually won the title by beating Canada in the final. He was a key member of the Argentina squad which won the 2013 Men's Pan American Cup and he scored a hat-trick in the final of the competition against Canada and he scored all four goals in the final for Argentina as they won the final 4-0. He was also the top goalscorer for Argentina at the 2013 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup with four goals. He was a member of the Argentine squad which won the 2013 Men's South American Hockey Championship.
He was named in the Argentine squad for the 2014 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup and it also marked his maiden FIH Hockey World Cup appearance. He was a vital cog of the Argentine hockey team that finished in third place in the 2014 Men's Hockey World Cup, which remains the best ever performance for Argentina to date in a single edition of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup. He scored the only goal for Argentina during their semi-final defeat to Australia 5-1 and Argentina claimed their first ever World Cup medal by defeating England 2-0 in the third place play-off during the 2014 World Cup campaign. He ended the 2014 Hockey World Cup as the top goalscorer of the tournament with 10 goals. He was part of the Argentina squad which qualified to the quarter-final of the 2014 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy.
He was a key member of the Argentine squad which claimed gold medal in the men's field hockey competition during the 2014 South American Games and he was also the top goalscorer of the competition with a tally of 16 goals. He was the top goalscorer at the 2014–15 Men's FIH Hockey World League Final with 8 goals. He was a crucial member of the Argentine squad which claimed gold medal in the men's field hockey tournament at the 2015 Pan American Games and was also the top goalscorer of the competition with a tally of 14 goals.