BRAZIL ARG_-21

Argentina’s destiny of the trophy lays in the hands of its long-time setter Luciano De Cecco. At 35, he still provides the leadership on the court, just like when he first joined the team in 2006, as well as his constant work of adding something to remember in their volleyball history.

The Santa Fe native has all the traits of a great leader. He has a great and calm character, but also with a fiery spirit to motivate his teammates. He is one of the most competent playmaking geniuses the sport has ever seen with consistency of effort and excellence.

Anaheim_172

De Cecco’s service in the national team is more than enough to put his name along with the country’s volleyball greats, leaving a great legacy that will stay with its people forever.

He first joined the national team in 2006 and only got the chance to display his skills at the World Championship, where his team finished 13th overall. A much more matured De Cecco led Argentina to four consecutive podium finishes at the South American Championships between 2007 and 2013, and finally a gold at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto and 2017 Pan American Cup in Gatineau.

De Cecco

In 2011, he grabbed back-to-back Best Setter plums at the World League and the World Cup. Fast forward to the year 2021, the Argentine playmaker was named to the Dream Team of the Olympic Games in Tokyo as Best Setter, who steered the team to win bronze medal – an achievement that took 33 years to achieve for the South American team.

He had an outstanding level of success achieved at the club level in various clubs in the Italian League, where he has spent most of his professional career. His current club, Volley Lube, finished as runners-up of the Italian Championship.

"First of all, this whole year in Lube, I learned so many things from De Cecco and I am so glad that I got the chance to play with him. He taught me a lot, especially in hitting, and about character, and how the mental game is supposed to be played," said De Cecco's club teammate Aleksandar Nikolov.

"He is one-of-one. He is the only setter in the world who is capable of doing the things he does, by far. I don’t think there is anybody else who plays his style of game - the way he plays and sees volleyball - because his vision is something that is out of this world. I am looking forward to playing with him longer. We’ve got at least three more years together in Lube, so I’m looking forward to them."

This year at the VNL, he guided Argentina to its very first appearance in the Finals of the Volleyball Nations League, playing reigning world champions Italy in the second quarterfinal match in Gdansk, Poland on July 19 at 20:00 local time (18:00 UTC).