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Juan José Brané

From Coronel Suarez to Dubai

Juanjo's first trip to the Middle East

By PoloLine

Coronel Suarez-born Juan José Brané, has a long polo career. He went to play to Dubai for the first time ever and, like anyone who goes there, he was delighted.
Juanjo played for the Bin Drai family's team and won the Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge, at Desert Palm Polo Club; besides, he was one of the most outstanding players during the season at Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, where played the final of the Gold Cup, with Bin Drai.

PoloLine met up with Juanjo while still in Dubai, for a very interesting conversation.

So, is it your first time in Dubai?
Yes, first tiem, and I'm very happy, it's really great.

How did you get the chance to play in Dubai?
That was through Nico Petracchi. He came to Coronel Suarez to see some horses. We met up there, and he invited me to go.

What can you tell about the Bin Drai family?
They are a fantastic family, great people, and have a very good organization. I am very happy to be with them.

You played with your old friend, Adriano Agosti in Bin Drai...
Sure, we played together in St. Moritz, England, and we have a lot of fun.

What can you tell us about polo and horses in Dubai?
Well, the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club is a very nice place, they do have a very good organization and many good horses. Maybe they should improve the fields; I mean, they are good, but they can be even better.

Do you think that there are both good horses and organizations in Dubai?
I think they have to get better organized, but it's like anywhere else; as soon as you have better horses, you can play better. They are not in a top level, but anyway, you can see good polo, too.

Was it hard to win the Cartier Challenge, at Desert Palm?
Yes, very. Ali Albwardy's team was very good organized, they played really well, and besides, they had two great players, such as Martin Valent and Alfredo Capella.

Regarding the Gold Cup, who do you think was the best player?
Nachi (Heguy), without doubts. But there have been a couple of kids who are already great players, just like Capella, Neves, Borghi... my team mates in Bin Drai, Tomás Iriarte...

Besides polo, what else you can do in Dubai?
Everything!!!! You can do absolutely everything in Dubai: go shopping, to the beach, even go skiing... everything you want.

What would be your recommendation to anyone who wants to come to Dubai?
Definetly, just come to Dubai. It's such an incredible place, with a lovely weather, and has a lot of polo.

In another issue, what do you think about the chance to have ten teams instead of eight at the Argentine Open?
Well, if there are eight teams, it should be for a reason, isn't it? It's many years they do it like this, so I think it should continue.