"Yes. I am quitting. I made that decision some time ago. I would not have wanted to stop. But I don't have a choice. I have to stop", Benjamin Antonietti stated when being interviewed after just having won the Swiss championship. "It is my body's decision. But when I see what's happening now, I tell myself that nothing better could have happened to me. Everyone would like to stop with a championship title."
The 31-year-old mentioned that the decision was made prior to the playoffs and that he was a bit anxious at first, especially during the series against HC Lugano, but that it got better afterward.
Antonietti made 474 games in the National- and 200 in the Swiss League, plus an extra six as part of the league qualification. Besides half a season in Rouen, France, he spent his career at the shores of Lake Geneva, suiting up for either Genève-Servette HC or Lausanne HC. Thanks to yesterday's victory, he now has won titles with both of them - the one with LHC in the Swiss League.
"Thanks to the magic of the doctors, it is okay", he answered when asked about how he is feeling. "But tomorrow morning, it will be another story. Physically, I am at the end. I have given all I got."