Argentinean star Conte announces retirement: “I gave everything every day”

The 3-0 loss to Germany that eliminated Argentina from the Paris 2024 Olympics on Friday marked the end of an era for the country’s men's national team as while outside hitter Facundo Conte announced the end of his playing career, setter and captain Luciano De Cecco didn’t confirm his return to the team in 2025. Each of them played their fourth Olympics with Argentina in Paris.

Conte, 34, had been with his country’s national team since 2009 and was a big piece in the squad that secured the historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, in 2021, which took the Argentineans back to the podium at the Games after 33 years.

“This was probably the last volleyball match of my career,” he said. “I wanted to play my last match with the Argentinean flag in my chest and during the Olympics and I’m very happy that it turned out to be this way and with my family in the stands – nothing beats hugging them after the match. It might not have been the result I wanted, but I’m so proud to have represented my country for so long. I gave my life to volleyball in the last 21 years and the sport gave me everything I have, but now it’s time for a new period of my life to start. It’s hard because I can’t even imagine my life without volleyball, but I leave knowing that I gave everything on the court every day and that makes me proud.”

Conte, who was recently playing in his native Argentina with Ciudad Voley, has also spent time in Russia, Poland, Qatar, China and Brazil during his career, having tremendous success at the club level. The son of Hugo Conte, a volleyball bronze medalist at the Seoul 1988 Games, the outside hitter left Paris frustrated with the Argentinean campaign, but proud of what he managed to accomplish over two decades, on and off the court.

“Things didn't go well for us in Paris, but we all gave all we could and that's our duty with our country and our national team,” Conte, who laid on the court after the final point and was comforted by his teammates, remarked. “I got to experience a lot of great things in my career, many of which I never thought I could. I also went through some difficult moments, which drained my energy, but they made me better and that allowed me to accomplish things I thought I could only dream of. I did a lot more than what I dreamed as a kid and that makes me really proud. I did everything in my life with passion and that’s the message I’d like to send because everything in life passes. Now it’s time to find out what’s out there in life.”

De Cecco unsure about his future

De Cecco, 36, could also have played his last match with the Argentinean national team – he’s confirmed to be with Valsa Group Modena in the next season of the Italian League. The setter, who had stepped away from the national team after Tokyo but came back in 2022, said he’ll need some time to decide on the future of his international career after Paris, where he got to be his one of his country's flag bearers during the Opening Ceremony.

“I’ll enjoy some free time now before joining Modena to start preparing for the next club season,” he commented. “After that, I don’t know. I’ll talk to my teammates and with the Federation to know what the plans are for the future and then I’ll decide if I come back or not. I think the next two years might be challenging for the national team, but we have the talent to put together a strong team and hopefully have a very good World Championships in 2025 at the Philippines.”

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