Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Volleyball

Conte: We’ll keep fighting until the end!

After a rough start in Tokyo, the Argentineans are just one win away from their second Olympic medal

Published 12:18, 04 Aug 2021

The quarterfinal victory over Italy that took Argentina back to a semifinal of the Olympics for the first time in 21 years has arguably been the greatest volleyball accomplishment of the country’s men’s national team in recent years. But according to the players who made it happen, the goal is to replace it by something even greater soon.

Currently ranked sixth in the FIVB World Ranking, the Argentineans defied the odds to take down the Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallists at the Ariake Arena and accomplish something they’ve long dreamed of – and worked hard for.

“This is the most remarkable moment in my entire career with the national team,” said outside hitter Facundo Conte. “It shows our character. We grew so much during the tournament and fought in every single match to be here. And the best is that we accomplished it as a team, we enjoyed the good moments and stuck together in the difficult ones. Winning a medal is our dream and we’ve been working for several years for this opportunity. We’ll keep fighting for it and we’ll leave everything we have on the court.”

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The current scenario seemed even less likely after the Argentineans lost their first two matches in Tokyo to ROC and Brazil. The setback against their South American rivals, which saw Argentina win the first two sets only to drop the final three, was identified by the players as a turning point in their campaign. After it, their campaign improved substantially, with four wins in as many matches.

It was after going through the most difficult situations that they found their identity as a team and developed the fighting spirit that became the Argentinean trademark in Tokyo.

“We don’t want this moment to end,” commented outside hitter Ezequiel Palacios. “We’ve been improving from a mental standpoint since the match against Brazil and that has taken us to the place we are now. We were confident in our preparation and knew we could play at this level. We’ve played great matches against some of the best teams in the world and hope to keep the same level in the two we have left.”

An eventual medal would be just the second in the team’s history, joining a bronze won back at Seoul 1988 by a generation that included Facundo’s father, Hugo.

Captain Luciano de Cecco says the Argentineans are not satisfied yet

One of the most experienced players in the squad, setter and team captain Luciano De Cecco also reinforced the idea that Argentina are far from done yet in Tokyo. As the team prepare for their semifinal match against France, he underlines the importance of not slowing down and keeping the intensity level as high as possible.

“We’re really happy to be where we are but the last thing we want is that it stops here,” the setter said. “I feel like all of us have been challenging ourselves in this Olympics and are experiencing something incredible for Argentinean volleyball. It’s a dream coming true but we have to keep pushing. We won’t settle for what we have because we always want more. We always push ourselves to our limits and that’s our main weapon as a team.”