In Argentina, the name Simonet means handball royalty.

When people hear it, they immediately think of Diego Simonet - the only Argentinian player to win the EHF Champions League Men, doing so with Montpellier in 2018. But his story is part of a much bigger family legacy: his parents, Luis Simonet and Alicia Moldes, both represented Argentina, while his brothers Sebastián and Pablo also wore the national shirt and helped shape the golden generation that turned Argentina into one of South America’s handball powers.

Now, as one of the country’s greatest careers slowly comes to an end, the journey that began at the 2007 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship is coming full circle. That was the tournament where Argentina produced their best-ever World Championship finish in any age category, placing fourth behind Denmark, Croatia and Sweden, a breakthrough that hinted at everything Simonet would go on to achieve.

 

After the conclusion of the 2025/26 season, Simonet announced his retirement from handball. He will still return to Argentina to compete with his boyhood team, SAG Ballester, where everything started, in the domestic league, but at the highest level, Simonet has hang up his boots.

The consensus is that retirement is always difficult for a player. A daily routine which not exists anymore, a boatload of time without matches and trainings and an adaptation to a new lifestyle.

But for Simonet, it seems like this has not been a difficult decision to made, rather than a normal one, which has been mulled over quite some time.

“I have many memories, but this retirement was one of the most beautiful things I ever experienced. I retired where I wanted to, when I wanted to, and in one of my best individual seasons. I received enormous affection that I never imagined. Retirement is not easy — it is supposed to be a difficult and sad moment — but for me it was exactly the opposite,” says Simonet for ihf.info.

 

Simonet is now 36 years old – he will turn 37 in December – but his career was absolutely unparalleled for Argentinian handball. After his initial formation years at SAG Ballester, he spent one year in Brazil, at São Caetano HC and then moved in 2009 to Torrevieja, in Spain.

Then, he moved to US Ivry, in France, where he spent two years, between 2011 and 2013. Since 2013, he has been donning the shirt of Montpellier Handball, becoming a focal point of the French team.

But, of course, there were tough moments along the way.

“I didn’t doubt my level at any point, but I did doubt whether I wanted to sacrifice so many moments to be a substitute for the whole match for the national team when I was 20 years old… I remember it just before the World Championship in Sweden in 2011. My family was very important at that time,” says Simonet.

“Mostly at the beginning, it was very difficult. I didn’t have an easy time in the first years. It was very enriching, but mentally very hard not to be with my loved ones and not to enjoy important moments of life with them.”

However, as time passed, Simonet grew more and more accustomed with the requests of the top level. He featured in six IHF Men’s World Championship editions, scoring 122 goals in 34 matches. He also played in three editions of the Olympic Games – at London 2012, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

 

“Every time I played with the national team, it was the most beautiful thing that could happen to you and also an enormous responsibility. I did everything I could to be in the national team because it was my dream since I was a child,” says Simonet.

“My top 3 moments with the national team were the 2021 World Championship in Egypt, because of the level of play we had,  the 2011 World Championship in Sweden, because of the mix of generations that came together, where we managed to beat Sweden, draw with Germany and Montenegro, and achieve our best result at a World Championship, and the qualification for Tokyo, because we qualified again after my serious injury and I was able to play an Olympic Games with my brothers.”

That injury Simonet refers to came in 2016, a devastating one - torn ligaments in his knee - which saw him miss out on playing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, a huge blow for the centre back, who was just entering the prime of his career.

But Simonet came back roaring – stronger than ever, and in two years’ time, he became the first Argentinian player to win the EHF Champions League Men, in 2018, with Montpellier, a win that basically came out of nowhere, a huge shock in European handball.

And Simonet was right, left and centre in that win, becoming the MVP of the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne, sending the Argentinian centre back in the stratosphere, as one of the all-time greats in handball.

Yet everything still revolved for playing in “La Seleccion”, donning the Albiceleste shirt time and time again, over 100 times in his career.

 

Three gold medals in the PanAmerican Games, three gold medals in the PanAmerican Championship and one gold medal in the South and Central America Championship later, Simonet is definitely the GOAT in Argentina’s history.

Albeit not featuring with the number 10 on shirt like Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi, but with the number 6, Simonet still remembers fondly some of the greatest memories of his life.

“The final against Chile in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualification is one of the memories I am most fond of. Because of all the sacrifice I had made over four years to arrive in good shape for that match. I changed my diet, took care of myself and put a lot of pressure on myself to play a great final and qualify. And we did it,” remembers Simonet.

 

“Another great memory, I think, is when we were at the Olympic Games for the first time and we entered there and saw how it is, I think it is something unique. When you are there and live it, it is something amazing, on a day-to-day basis. Obviously, when you return, it is still incredible, but the factor of surprise is not there, you know what expects you, it is still beautiful to live it.”

However, a memory that will stay with Simonet forever is the last match – after a few hundred – he played for Montpellier in the French league. With a place on the podium on the line, Montpellier won the local derby, 34:30, with Simonet scoring three goals and exiting on a high.

“In my last match, what I wanted most was to win. It was an important match for the team, and I wanted to end my career in the best possible way. What I wanted most was to thank my family and the people of Montpellier for the love they gave me for so many years and for their respect. It was far beyond expectations,” says the centre back.

 

But does he miss handball?

“Not yet,” he laughs. “I think I squeezed everything out to the maximum. What I will miss most is the locker room after a victory. With the national team or with the club.”

Yet as his career ends, Argentina’s GOAT will always be proud of what he achieved and how he became a model for others, while also playing alongside his brothers – Sebastian and Pablo – as well as a special group of players.

What would you say to the 18-year-old Diego, who is making his first steps in handball was the last question asked. The answer?

“To trust his instinct and be himself. Not to change the way he is.”