Former Italian national team player Alessandro Fei's retirement was announced by his club the other day.
Alessandro Fei lascia il volley giocato, sarà il team manager della Gas Sales
After 25 years as a professional, she retired at the age of 41. Although it has become more common recently for volleyball players to retire after turning 40, it is still quite rare. When I started playing volleyball, Faye was already playing as the face of the Italian national team, and because of her distinctive appearance (or rather, her hair), she is one of the players I have a special attachment to.
Photo by FIVB
Favored by fans as "Fox", Faye was a member of the Italian national team for 14 years, from age 19 to 33. He was the face of Italy for many years and participated in four Olympic Games (one silver medal, two bronze medals, and one fourth place). If he had been able to participate in the Rio Olympics, he would have participated in five Olympic Games, matching the record held by the legendary Russian player Tetyukhin. What a shame.
At club level, he played alongside Yoichi Kato (currently JT Marvelous coach) during his time at Treviso, and Yuki Ishikawa (currently at Milan?) during his time at Latina.
His position was originally middle blocker, but since the Athens Olympics in 2004, he has also played as an opposite. There are several active players who can play multiple positions, such as Zaitsev, Anderson, and Musserski, so-called "two-way players." However, I don't think there is any player who has been as successful in both positions for as long as he has.
Personally, I have a stronger impression of him as a middle player. That's because I have a personal attachment to the Italian national team at the 2012 London Olympics, and Faye played middle at that time. At that time, he and Mastrangelo were the middle players, with a "shaggy natural curl" and a "bad guy" who truly represented Italy in both name and reality (laughs). Also, their playing styles were contrasting, with their appearances being "calm" and "passionate," which was also good.
Faye's form is compact and distinctive, whether he's hitting from the middle or from the far side, and is by no means as dynamic and beautiful as Japan's Ishikawa. However, he hits powerful spikes at a wide range of angles that are unimaginable from his form, and scores a lot of points. Anyone would know it's Faye if they saw the distinctive "elbow" during the attack. I like soft and beautiful forms, but I also like unique forms.
For those who remember the 90s, if you say "shaggy" player, it might be Bernardi or Zorzi. But for me, the only "shaggy" volleyball player is Faye. It's a permanent retirement (laughs).
I also hope that Giannelli, who, like Faye, made his debut for the Italian national team at the age of 19, will do his best to surpass Faye and get on par with Techukhin.
Starting next season, Faye will become the team manager of Piacenza, his former club. Italy is one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, so I imagine there will be many difficulties for the club team, but I hope he will do his best in his new stage.
Thank you Faye. I love you.
Photo by Lega Pallavolo
Alessandro Fei
Born November 29, 1978 (41 years old)
Born in Saronno, Italy
Height: 204 cm
Weight: 90kg
Highest point reached: 358cm
Position: Middle blocker/opposite
Jersey number: 14
Club (Senior)
1993-94 Foiano Pallavolo
1994-98 Padua
1998-01 Roubaix
2001-12 Treviso
2012-14 Piacenza
2014-16 Roubaix
2016-17 Latina
2017-20 Piacenza
Representative career
1998-2012
English 
Japanese