Francesca Piccinini leaves volleyball

Shock. Francesca Piccinini displaces everyone by revealing that she has made a final decision about her career: “I am here to announce that I will no longer play volleyball, I will retire. I have lived a dream for so many years, but I think the time has come to say stop to this wonderful life and start a new one. I want to live other emotions,” she told ‘Verissimo’.

The Italian volleyball player, world champion in 2002, explains the difficulty in making this choice: “It was hard to make this decision, but I am 40 years old and I am coming out a winner because two months ago I won my seventh Champions Cup. I will miss the feeling before matches and the adrenaline after wins but I will look for them in something else. I am still a little dazed but I think it is the right decision. I thank this beautiful sport that has shaped me and helped me so much to become the woman I am today.”

Piccinini was born in Massa on January 10, 1979.