A who's who of Argentina Men's
Volleyball
 June
11, 2005 - Argentina is going through a
tough time on their return to the World
League. Currently bottom of Pool C, the
South Americans have got a lot to look
forward to over the remainder of the
tournament, starting with their second
match against Greece on Sunday as they
strive to add to their solitary victory
to date.
Meet the players
Name: Hernan Ferraro
Age: 37
Position: Setter
Nick Name: Harry Potter
Since 2002 he is unquestionably the best
setter in the Argentine national men’s
team. He will be playing his second
World League campaign and will be the
oldest player in the team, having
already played the 2002 World
Championship and the 2004 Athens Olympic
Games. He is called “Harry Potter”
because of his magic and the speed of
his hands and at 1.71m tall, it is these
skills which sees him compete with great
effect of the court. He was the best
setter in the Argentine National League
in recent years for Rojas Scholem,
Conarpesa and Rosario Scholem Sonder. He
received the prize as best setter in the
2003 South American Championship and the
2004 Olympic Games Qualification
Tournament in Venezuela.
Name: Santiago Darraidou
Age: 24
Position: Opposite
Nick Name: Zurdo
After some sterling performances in the
2001-02 National League for Koyote,
Salta, the opposite put himself in the
minds of Argentine coaches and fans
alike. He seems the natural replacement
for Marcos Milinkovic having proven
himself with some outstanding
performances in the 2002 World
Championships while in Modena (Italy),
Orestiada (Greece), and Fenerbahce (Turkey)
he was consistently one of the best.
With his powerful left hand featuring as
a consistent weapon in any attack, he is
being hunted by many National League
teams as well as foreign country leagues
this season.
Name: Pablo Peralta
Age: 24
Position: Middle Player
Nick Name: Pepe
Peralta, who is also in his second World
League season, fought hard to make the
Argentine national team and made it
thanks to his big performances for
Alianza de Cordoba last season. “Pepe,”
who had realier played for Tenerife in
the Spanish Superliga, will have a big
chance, together with Porporatto, to be
in the starting line-up adding a
different combination with Alejandro
Spajic. The boy from the city of Rosario
is one of the best middle players and
blockers of Argentina.
Name: Guillermo Garcia
Age: 21
Position: Opposite
Nick Name: Guille
After being the revelation of the
National League with Alianza Cordoba and
Bolivar over the past three seasons, the
spiker from the city of Cordoba with
start the 2005 World League in top form
and having gained the great experience
of playing in two National Leagues
finals, one finishing champion and the
other, in the second place. He can play
as side hitter or opposite and will have
his chance in the national team this
season after playing in the 2003 South
American Championship, the first team
summoned by Fabian Armoa. This will be
his first World League campaign.
Name: Gustavo Scholits
Age: 22
Position: Opposite
Nick Name: Tanza
With one World League season under his
belt as opposite in 2002, Tanza wants to
fight for the rite to replace Marcos
Milinkovic. His strong offensive game
gives him the advantage in gaining one
place after being left out of the 2002
World Championship side. His height
combined with his offensive power has
helped him develop immensely in recent
seasons.
Name: Gustavo Porporatto
Age: 24
Position: Middle Player
Nick Name: Porpo
He is one of the best international
spikers amongst Argentine middle players
and his last season in Argentina and
Spain only confirmed his talent. He
consolidated his national team place at
the 2002 World Championships and in the
2004 Athens Olympic Games, where he was
one of the best players. He comes into
the World League campaign having played
one of the semifinals with Numancia in
the Spanish Superliga together with the
Argentine coach Ricardo Maldonado and
the season before, he played in the
finals with Swiss Medical Monteros
finishing second. He gained a National
League title with Rojas Scholem in the
season 2001-02 and a second place, also
with Rojas Scholem, in the season
2002-03.
Name: Alejandro Spajic
Age: 29
Position: Middle Player
Nick Name: Caño
A league champion with Lokomotive
Belgorod in the Russian League this year,
this San Juan player is one of the best
middle players in the world and is one
of the most experienced players in the
team coached by Fabian Armoa. He has
played in two Olympics campaigns (2000
Sydney and 2004 Athens) and seven World
League seasons. Russia was not his only
experience in a foreign leagues having
played for Poitiers of France (2002-03)
together with Leandro Maly.
Name: Gabriel Arroyo
Age: 28
Position: Middle Player
Nick Name: Gaby
One of the new faces in the team since
2003 he has been called in at different
moments by Fabian Armoa. His incredible
performances playing for Velez Sarsfield
in the Argentine League made him well
known in the local Volleyball world.
Powerful and athletic, Gaby has a great
jump and an huge wish to be part of the
national team as a middle player. In the
last National League he averaged more
than 30 points per game - something very
unusual for a middle player - with the
surprising semifinalists Velez Sarsfield,
Name: Demian Gonzalez
Age: 22
Position: Setter
Nick Name: Demi
He showed up as a promising player in
the team of Amigos in the Argentine
national league with some exceptional
performances. Having played for the
Argentine junior side coached by Fabian
Muraco, Gonzalez is one of the setters
summoned to get experience with a view
to being a replacement for Hernan
Ferraro in the future. He will fight for
one place with Ignacio Bernasconi with
his precision, game awareness and
etermination standing him in good stead.
Name: Lucas Chavez
Age: 23
Position: Opposite
Nick Name: Luketa
Chavez has been a regular in the
national team and is coming off a great
season with Alianza Cordoba in the
Argentine League. He is powerful and put
in some great performances in the
pre-season matches against Cuba. He has
played in the Austrian League and was
the best scorer of the Top Team European
Cup with Innsbruck. He will have his
best chance this season to cement a
position in the national side with the
absence of Marcos Milinkovic leaving the
door open for Chavez to take on an
offensive role with the team.
Name: Ignacio Bernasconi
Age: 19
Position: Setter
Nick Name: Nacho
Bernasconi has been singled out as a
setter with a bright future in recent
years. He has the height and the quality
of his hands is unquestionable, so
everyone is expecting him to fill one of
the most important roles in the
Argentine national team in the footsteps
of Waldo Kantor, Javier Weber and Hernan
Ferraro. In the last two seasons he
didn’t play in the starting line up due
to the fact he was a junior player and
Hernan Ferraro and the Argentine-Cuban
player Gilman Cao Herrera stood in front
of him. However, during that time he
played in the national youth and junior
sides with Horacio Dileo first and now
with Fabian Muraco and received
international recognition as the best
setter at the 2004 South American Junior
Championship.
Name: Jeronimo Bidegain
Age: 28
Position: Side Receiver
Nick Name: Jero
Bidegain has already been involved in
the 2002 World Championships and the
2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympic
Games where he performed admirably. He
also played in two World League editions,
2001–02. He is coming from being one of
the best players in the champion team,
Swiss Medical Monteros in the 2004-05
national league and a second place
finish the season prior. Bidegain is one
of the leaders in the team due to his
extensive experience, which includes
playing for the champion Rojas Scholem
side (season 2001-02) and for Italian
club Modena and the Spanish Superliga
team of Almeria in the season 2002-03.
Name: Alexis Gonzalez
Age: 23
Position: Líbero
Nick Name: Ale
After the 2001 World Youth Boys
Championship “Ale” got his big chance to
play on the international scene for Son
Amar in the Spanish Superliga, however,
the 2005 World League will be his first
official experience with the men’s
national team and he has big shoes to
fill, replacing one of the best liberos
in the world, Pablo Meana. Gonzalez has
performed superbly in his two seasons in
the Spanish Superliga, particularly in
receiving and defence and now he wants
to cement a spot in the national side
with improved speed and reflexes.
Name: Javier Filardi
Age: 25
Position: Side Receiver
Nick Name: Javi
Filardi has already represented the
national men’s side having played in the
2003 South American Championship with
Fabian Armoa but in 2005 he will
undertake his first World League
experience. He is a solid player, in
reception particularly and the Cordoba
player will take advantage of every
chance in the national team with an
excellent pass and an effective spike.
In the pre-season matches against Cuba
he played several matches in the
starting line up as libero but he is
also very effective in spiking, proving
how versatile he is.
Name: Leonardo Patti
Age: 26
Position: Side receiver
Nick Name: Mudo
A well known face on the international
stage, Patti has already played in a
World Championship (2002) and two
Olympic Games (2000 – Sydney and 2004 –
Athens) and is now the backbone to the
national team. He transmits power and
enthusiasm at all moments and enjoys an
explosive offensive attitude. He has
experienced success already with Bolivar
in the Argentine national league and he
was the main player in the Universidad
de Buenos Aires side when they finished
second in 2001-02. Patti has also played
in the Spanish Superliga with Malaga and
despite teams from Spain and Italy
searching for his signature in 2005 he
signed up with one of the most powerful
teams in Argentina, Rosario.
Name: Marcos Dominguez
Age: 22
Position: Opposite
Nick Name: Pampa
“Pampa” returns to the national side
after playing in the 2001 Grand
Champions Cup in Japan, when many
newcomers played in the light blue
jersey for the first time. In the
preseason matches against Cuba,
Dominguez put on a powerful offensive
effort, and will be a serious contender
in the role of opposite in the World
League. He is a very powerful spiker, as
he showed while playing for Amigos in
the Argentine national league, and he
has a great counter attack play despite
his lack of height.
Name: Maximo Torcello
Age: 24
Position: Side receiver
Nick Name: Maxi
Torcello returns to the national team
for the first time since playing in the
2001 Japan Cup. He played a couple of
seasons in Italy but returned to
Argentina to play for Conarpesa last
season where he was in outstanding form.
He has an incredible spiking ability and
gives the national team good reception
in adition to his extra centimeters in
blocking.
Name: Gastón Giani,
Age: 26
Position: Side Receiver
Nick Name: Tonga
Having played in the 2002 World
Championships and the 2004 Athens
Olympic Games, “Tonga” is now a regular
in the Argentine line up just for his
spiking alone. His second World League
campaign could be the tournament that
makes him an international star,
although after three consecutive seasons
with Tenerife in Spain, some would argue
he already is one.
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