“I want to relive the feeling of belonging,” Conte said. Photo Manrique Fernandez Buente
Facundo Conte He went home. The top recipient, winner of the historic Tokyo 2020 bronze medal along with Argentina’s national team, was presented as a new player of the Countrythe club that saw him born, before the 2022/23 season of Argentina Volleyball Leaguetournament to play for the first time.
“I turned down some very important offers because I wanted to wait for what I really wanted. When the proposal came from this club, it was an avalanche of emotions. The decision was so quick, I didn’t hesitate even for a second.”commented, extremely excited, the 32-year-old player, who is too young (at the age of 18) to play abroad and knows how to shout champion in one of the most important leagues in the world.
The son of the mythical Hugo Conte -part of the squad that also won Olympic bronze at Seoul in 1988– first landed in Italy, where he played in Catania, Bologna, Lube and Umbria, all teams from super league of that country, like NBA volleyball. He then knew how to shout champion in Poland with the Skra Belchatów shirt, in China with the Shanghai Golden Age and in Brazil, first with Tabauté and then with Sada Cruzeiro, where he also won the Club World Cup in 2019. He also had a brief stint at The Jaish of Qatar and Warta Zawiercie from Poland, a club he left to return to the country.
“After fulfilling that great dream of being an Olympic medal and getting to know so many places and so many cultures, I felt like I needed myself, to be able to enjoy and share with my family, with my friends. I really wanted to be here. It’s not something I say nicely: I left home very young and it’s always been a dream to come back ”, he said, accompanied by his loved ones as well as many players from less and more members of the club, who gathered to greet him.
And he added that he decided to come back because he felt the “desire to relive the sense of belonging” and that “The City is the best and only option to do so.”
Conte surprised Argentine volleyball more than ten days ago when he announced on his Instagram account that he would be returning to the country.
Conte was surrounded by a lot of partners in the City, who welcomed him. Photo Manrique Fernandez Buente
“I’m going home. Thank you City for this opportunity. How can we be happy,” he wrote, along with a video with photos of his career on the national team and the various teams he has traversed.
“As a boy, I only had one goal, I wanted to be a volleyball player and break everything. 15 years ago this beautiful journey began. I packed my bags and without looking back, I left. my country, my home, my family and my friends to find my dreams In volleyball I traveled the world, I played in many countries, in the best clubs and in the best leagues, “he said in the video .
And he added: “Along the way I got lost and found myself again when I realized I needed to combine the person I was with with the player I wanted to be. Tokyo changed my life forever. I had the privilege of fulfilling many of the my dream, but I always have one thing pending: to go home. Because it really all started when it was just a game and at my club I learned to love volleyball. So, I decided it was time to go home “.
The top receiver clarified on Wednesday that in this new stage he has high goals. “I came to win the league. Always, all my life, I played to win. It won’t be weird here. I want to help Ciudad get the title we all want. But I also want to have fun and enjoy the myself, “he assured.
With Conte’s arrival, the Buenos Aires club, currently runner-up after losing in the final of the last edition along with UPCN, has added hierarchy reinforcement that not only raises the level of the team, but of the entire national league.
Source: Clarin
