His name is well-known across Europe yet Zoltan Perl still operates somewhat in the shadows. With a stellar start to the Basketball Champions League, the Falco Szombathely man is putting his team on the map. Emmet Ryan on the Hungarian takeover merchant who is the protagonist of any story he’s a part of.
Zoltan Perl could live a different life. Perl could get paid far more handsomely than he does now at a bigger club. The Hungarian could just as easily settle for domestic dominance in his home market. Instead, he wants more. Perl is on a personal mission to make Falco Szombathely something more. In his prime years, he’s in the process of doing so in the Basketball Champions League
Welcome to the island of relevancy
Zoltan Perl has played twice in the Basketball Champions League this season. He’s won player of the week both times. The man is just off to a flyer. Perl opened the campaign with 20 points and 4 assists in a home win over Reggiana. That was followed up with a huge effort on the road, 29 points and 7 rebounds, to beat Slask Wroclaw of Poland.
With those two wins in their opening pair of games, Falco Szombathely matched their win totals from each of the past two seasons. Perl has been the difference maker by far and it’s not close.
The 29 year old is averaging 60 per cent shooting from the field and 40 per cent from three. He’s a classic slashing creator at heart. A man who wants the ball in his hands and knows how to deliver in big moments.
Not exactly a hooping heartland
Falco Szombathely have started this season 7-0 in all competitions. In fact, they haven’t lost a game at any level since 14 May. Since early December of last year, they’ve lost just two games in total. This, of course, speaks more to the level of competition they faced.
Falco have won every Hungarian league title since the 2018/19 season. They are Hungary’s only representative in the Basketball Champions League this season. Szolnoki, who they beat in the finals last season, are bottom of their group in the FIBA Europe Cup. Alba Fehevar are faring slightly better in their group in the same competition.
This is the norm. Not since its majestic generation of the 1950s, that coincided with the Magnificent Magyars in football, has Hungary been a noted home for men’s basketball talent. There were exceptions. Kornel David went to the NBA, Adam Hanga won Euroleague, and then there’s Zoltan Perl.
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Sometimes a man just needs the ball
It was May in 2019 and there were dates to fill. Between the Final Fours of the Basketball Champions League in Antwerp and Euroleague in Vitoria-Gasteiz, I went on a mini-tour of games in Spain. That brought me to Madrid, for the derby between Real Madrid and Estudiantes.
It was forgettable. More than I realised. Prior to a few hours ago, I thought I’d only seen Zoltan Perl play in the flesh in his national team jersey. Turns out he was there, for a soon to be relegated Estudiantes side. He didn’t stand out and it makes sense.
With Falco Szombathely, he is the leader. Perl gets the ball in hand and decides the fate of all around him. Elsewhere in Europe, through stints in Italy and that one in Spain, he’s not been in that position. Perl’s game relies heavily on him being the protagonist.
There’s nothing wrong with that, it just means that it changes his opportunities. While a competent creator, he’s most comfortable as a scorer. He needs the ball because he believes nobody can do what he will with it.
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He will make you believe
The prior two seasons in the Basketball Champions League resulted in early exits for Falco Szombathely. They didn’t go quietly. In one of my other lives as a commentator, I ended up on duty for their final games of both campaigns. Already eliminated from the competition, these should have been nothing games for the side.
Here’s the thing. There is no such thing as a nothing game for Zoltan Perl. Crank your volume up to the max and press play.
That’s a man treating a nothing game like his and the lives of everyone around him depended on him making that shot. An exceptional display to you or I is a normal night on the job for Perl.
His displays in the jersey of Hungary aren’t much different. Always underdogs, he played a key role alongside Hanga in bringing his side to the last 16 of EuroBasket in 2017 in their first appearance in the competition since 1999. Perl was there again to get them back to the big show in 2022. That was their first time with consecutive appearances since the 1960s.
The next chapter
We don’t have to wait long for the next key parts of Zoltan Perl’s story. Falco Szombathely can put one foot in the last 16 of the Basketball Champions League if they win away to Rytas Vilnius on Wednesday. At the very least, they’ll be all but assured of a place in the play-ins with victory.
It will only be a few weeks then until he dons the Hungary jersey again. Back to back games, home and away, with Turkey await in November. Once more, Perl and his side are on the back foot. Yet again, he’ll be asked to take on enormous odds and prevail. Have no doubt, this is exactly what Zoltan Perl craves.
A competitor is easy to spot in the wild. Their insatiable need for more is unmistakable. Perl wants that ball, he needs that ball, and he laughs at pressure. No matter how high the mountain may be, he’ll do what he need to carry those around him to the top.
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