The World Championship this year in Turkey will be the last international tournament for Argentinian Leo Gutiérrez.

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Despite being overshadowed by his bigger name teammates Manu Ginobili, Andes Nocioni, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino, the 31-year-old forward has been an important member for Team Argentina over the last decade.

Gutiérrez feels he can no longer recover properly from long domestic seasons and international games. Gutiérrez prefers to retire at the top of his basketball capacities, rather than “being replaced by a younger player or retiring because of personal reasons”.

A player of Peñarol, to which he transferred from Atenas, Gutiérrez is known for his outside shots and has been a regular member of the national team since 2002, when he was a runner-up at the World Championships. He was also part of the gold and bronze medalists at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

His most recent appearence with the Argentina jersey was at the Americas Championship last year, where he averaged 8.6 points and two rebounds per game.