Pachi Peg announces his retirement from handball

The captain of Alser BM Puerto Sagunto is retiring at the age of 41, after spending his entire life in handball setting an example of professionalism and humanity

 José Antonio Peg Rodríguez (Valencia, 1970), known as Pachi Peg in the handball world, has announced his retirement as a player at the end of the current season. With Pachi's retirement, the last representative of a generation of Valencian players who brought so much success to handball in this region is leaving.

Since joining BM Avidesa Alzira under César Argiles in 1990, through to his current club, BM Puerto Sagunto, he has spent no fewer than 22 consecutive seasons among the best goalkeepers in Spanish handball.

Pachi has played for ten teams: Avidesa Alzira, Teka Cantabria, Pozoblanco, Baracaldo, Valencia and Puerto Sagunto in Asobal; and Oviedo, Octavio, Elda and Alicante in the División de Honor Plata. He has triumphed with all of them both between the posts and by leaving a lasting impression on fans and team-mates.

The honours of this indefatigable Valencian are within the reach of only the very greatest: EHF Cup winner, European Cup Winners' Cup winner, Copa del Rey winner, two-time Spanish Super Cup runner-up, Asobal Cup runner-up and two-time División de Honor Plata champion. Together with his four senior B international caps and 18 junior international caps, these are achievements he can be proud of, although he never does, because his modesty knows no bounds.

This impeccable career reached its sporting culmination at Alser Balonmano Puerto Sagunto. He arrived in the summer of 2005, when the club was in the third tier, and with Pachi in goal, he has travelled the entire road to the summit of the Liga Asobal

Pachi Peg, who did not want to hold a press conference and will say goodbye to his fans at the next match at the Ovni against Antequera, said: “ I am leaving very proud that BM Puerto Sagunto is the most important club of my career. I want to appeal to everyone so that what we have achieved through years of work by players, coaches, fans, the board and sponsors does not come to an end. It would be the third project in Valencia Province to disappear from the professional handball leagues, after Avidesa Alzira and Vamasa Valencia. This city and its fans deserve to remain elite, because handball permeates the whole city and is a benchmark for all the young people who play handball in Valencia and Castellón. I am leaving the goalkeeping position, but I will continue training as a coach and will try to contribute as a coach within the sporting structure of Balonmano Puerto Sagunto.”

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.