Bruno Lima, Facundo Conte and Agustín Loser, three medalists at Tokyo 2020. Photo: Juano Tesone
33 years had passed since the historic bronze in Seoul 1988, the only Olympic medalist in Argentine volleyball. There have been good results along the way, but also a lot of frustrations. Until the wait for another big hit is over and The dream came true. The national team climbed to third place on the Tokyo 2020 podium and celebrated in a big way. Ten months after that feat, with the bonus of winning the key match 3-2 against Brazil, Facundo Conte, Bruno Lima Y Augustine Loser talk hand in hand with Clarione on the emotional and sporting impact of the conquest obtained at the Olympic Games played last year.
“It’s still experienced as something very fresh. We keep watching videos and it’s something amazing for us. It is a very big emotion. We always dream of living this moment and being able to make it happen is something that fills us with pride and gives us great pleasure, because we are committed all year round and we go through so many difficult things. We don’t have the same conditions, support or visibility as other sports and the truth is that which makes it much sweeter than it isLima sums it up.
The 26-year-old opposite from San Juan, who started his career at Obras de San Juan and was present at Rio 2016, was the Tokyo 2020 top scorer with 138 points (average 17.25 per game), ahead of the two top scorers of champion France: Earvin Ngapeth (136) and Jean Patrick (135).
Along the same lines, Loser, 24 years old and one of the rookies at the Olympic level, expresses all his happiness: “This is something that will remain for the rest of our lives, no matter how long it takes. We will always live it very strongly because it is historical. Personally, he marked me a lot as a player and made me gain a lot of experience. It’s the most important thing in my career. I don’t know if I can achieve anything more important than this“.
Conte relives that moment with the emotion on the surface. “Seeing the images makes everything move again. I get goosebumps. We have an incredible experience in Tokyo, an absurd emotion. It’s like suddenly eating the carrot I was chasing in one bite“, choose as a metaphor
“After reaching something this big, it’s hard to get up. It’s like nothing tastes the same. That’s why the matches in Buenos Aires (today and tomorrow in Ferro against Holland) will be important to get together and relaunch everything after a year away “, he underlines.
Bruno Lima, Facundo Conte and Agustín Loser pose with the new jerseys of the Argentine national team. Photo: Juano Tesone
Facundo lived it in a particular way for having been able to fulfill the family mandate. Hugo Conte, his father, had been a fundamental piece in the Seoul medal team and is considered the best Argentine volleyball player in history. The Heir He took that responsibility and handled it in the best possible way.
“I was talking about it with a therapist: there is a very strong personal emotional charge. I’ve been playing professionally for 15 years, I’ve participated in three Olympics and three World Championships, and that carrot seemed almost unattainable. I always stayed at the door. My old man is my Diego. Reaching it has been a relief to complete that unfinished business that I have had for so long and it makes me very happy, “he describes sincerely.
memory of tokyo
Argentine players celebrate after beating Italy and entering the semifinals at Tokyo 2020 Photo Reuters
The bronze in Tokyo 2020 came after hitting hard in major competitions. That’s why Conte values him very much, as the most experienced of the three.
“In Rio 2016 I received one of the hardest blows of my sporting life emotionally, because I really believed it was possible and we lost 3-1 to Brazil in the quarter-finals when we were first in our zone. This is what makes the Olympic Games magical: you have been working for four years and the details leave you out, “Facundo says to contextualize last year’s feat.
The match against Italy in Tokyo, also in the quarter-finals, was seen as a sort of revenge for a group of players who had mostly been present four years earlier and who suffered the impact of elimination at the gates of the matches. for medals.
“At every moment we believed we had a chance. We knew it would be difficult, but we also knew it was possible. We worked hard to have this chance again and I think the match against Italy was fundamental. click real, “said the Heir.
And he added: “The previous game with the United States was also very important. If we won, we passed, and if we lost, we went home. Those two games gave us the last little push and made us believe definitively in that dream we have realized“.
Agustín Loser blocks Douglas de Souza’s shot and Argentina wins the bronze medal. Photo: @Voley_FeVA
The second match of the group stage, against Brazil, was one of the most difficult moments of the competition, because after starting to win the first two sets, he ended up falling in the playoff of the fifth.
“We were going 200 percent, thinking we could qualify, even though we were inside ‘the death zone’, but the match with Brazil, after winning the first two sets, was a hard blow. We have prepared ourselves to move forward, ”recalls Loser.
At that moment of greatest difficulty, the team presented itself in all its glory and, without a doubt, were Marcelo Méndez’s men. They reacted on time, with a lot of personality and a great level of play, and they matched three wins in a row. First against France, who would later become champion, with a 15-13 on the field playoff. Then against Tunisia they overcame 0-2. And against the United States, a resounding 3-0 to keep dreaming.
“After beating the United States, we said to ourselves that it didn’t matter who we ran into. Get anyone to come so we could beat them. In that game we did the click and we knew we could win a medal, “confesses Loser.
The power plant emerged from Ciudad Vóley, today in the Tourcoing Lille Métropole of France, finished as the best blocker of the Olympic tournament. He led that stat with 22 points, one above the Brazilian Lucao and the Russian Iakovlev. He averages 2.75 blocks per game. He will remain in history the one who condemned the duel for the bronze against Brazil.
That moment, when he knelt on the ground and produced the celebration of the Argentines, including those who had risen early to support them from a distance, marked a moment of greatest emotion. Pure history for Argentine volleyball with its second Olympic medal. And those feelings last until today.
Play Argentina again
Bruno Lima, top scorer of the Olympic Games. Photo by Reuters
The national team will play two friendlies this Thursday and Friday against the Netherlands at the Héctor Etchart de Ferro stadium, in preparation for the League of Nations Volleyball and to rediscover the Argentine public and celebrate the medal. That’s why the tickets were sold out in less than a day. Matches will start Thursday at 9pm on DirecTV and Friday on DeporTV.
“It will be very special to be able to celebrate a big party, since we couldn’t last year due to the restrictions of the pandemic,” says Loser.
“We will have our moment of celebration, certainly before and after, but during the match our focus will be to play in the best way, because it is an important test after a hard month of training. It will help us see where we are ”, she concludes.
The VNL will launch a new format this season. Everything will be played in three weekends. The new system offers groups of eight teams each and by the end they will have played 12 games, not 15 as usual.
It will take place in six locations: Brasilia (Brazil), Ottawa (Canada), Quezon City (Philippines), Sofia (Bulgaria), Osaka (Japan) and Gdansk (Poland). After the regular phase, with the traditional scoring system, the first eight of the general classification will be classified in the knockout phase. Then the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be played, all in Bologna (Italy).
The journey of Argentina in the VNL
Week 1 (June 7-12) – Ottawa, Canada
- 06/08, 17:30: Poland vs ARGENTINA
- 6/9, 12.00: Germany-ARGENTINA
- 6/10, 12.00: Serbia-ARGENTINA
- 11/06, 15:00: ARGENTINA vs Italy
Week 2 (June 21-26) – Quezon City, Philippines
- 21/6, 08:00: ARGENTINA-Japan
- 23/6, 08.00: ARGENTINA-Slovenia
- 24/6, 04:00: ARGENTINA-China
- 25/6, 00.00: ARGENTINA-Holland
Week 3 (July 5-10) – Osaka, Japan
- 7/5, 06.00: Canada-ARGENTINA
- 7/8, 00.40: ARGENTINA-Australia
- 7/9, 00.40: France-ARGENTINA
- 7/10, 00.40: United States-ARGENTINA
Source: Clarin
