Director General of the administration Shlomi Perry took office just before the outbreak of the Corona and since then he has not had a bad moment • On joining the Balkan League: "We did not do any manipulation, it was real from the first moment" • On stopping the league: "I saw black in the eyes, a depressing period" • : Who gets the credit for getting out of the crisis
Shlomi Perry.
"Our power in our unity"
Photography:
Alan Shiver
During the joining of Premier League teams to the Balkan League less attention was paid to one important matter: unity.
An unusual matter in the league administration.
"All the chairmen have interests and interests for their team, but everyone understood that the industry and the league need to be saved. That's where unity comes from," says one of the move's architects, Shlomi Perry, the director of the administration. Practice and play starting next week.
What they did not argue about in the administration over the years.
On what there have been no disagreements since the beginning of the Corona crisis.
Should the league close when it all started?
Should the league continue?
In addition, the debate over the distribution of funds for the safety net began.
Then came the current break and the Balkan League story, and with them a wall-to-wall agreement that "this is rare in the administration," Perry admits, "the best that everyone will learn is that together it is the best. The fewer wars. Our strength is in our unity."
When joining the Balkan League was announced, the thought was that it was an exercise, a means of pressure or a kind of protest and that the whole story was not really going to come to fruition.
Perry clarifies that from the first moment it was not like this: "In conversations I had with the chairmen I made it clear to everyone that there is no fiction here and we are going to play in the Balkan league even if our league returns. We did not manipulate here. There was no moment of threat here. ".
What would have happened if all this move had not been carried out?
"The situation of doing nothing could have caused everything to fall apart. Imagine there was no activity - strangers would run away, groups would go out to the IDF, and return later would take time because groups had to refill the lines.
A break without the ability to even train would do great damage. "
It turns out that if the Balkan story had not been carried out there would have been another plan of action.
We have already heard that there was a "training bubble" episode abroad. Perry reveals that this was the basic plan and the second plan was on the agenda - to turn this bubble into a "games bubble" and continue the Israeli league overseas, but to implement it was very complicated .
Did you get compliments on the idea of joining the Balkans for a brilliant move?
"The signature does not indicate its pulp. We did receive a lot of compliments. When you are small and poor you have to be creative."
On the other hand, you also received criticism that this is a cynical move, that this is a combination.
"Everyone has an opinion and he can express it. For me the most important thing is that the teams are back to smiling. That we are back to doing what we love."
Shlomi Perry. "When you're small and poor you have to be creative" // Photo by Alan Schieber
"Affected my life"
Shlomi Perry, 49, 12 years in the administration.
He was the VP of communications and was appointed CEO in February, replacing Adli Marcus who left for Maccabi Tel Aviv. A month after his appointment, Corona arrived and since then he has faced the league break, the difficult struggle to return the league, the management of the returning league and now the second break crisis. "It's a lot to deal with, there's no quiet moment, it's pretty crazy, but it's also interesting and challenging and as mentioned, above all, it requires you to be creative."
Not an easy job.
"There is an amazing team in the administration, and these challenges have only ignited them. Chairman Shmuel Frenkel is in charge of everything, he gives his back, and the credit is first and foremost his.
I think they underestimated it. "
What score would you give to the conduct of Israeli basketball since the beginning of the crisis in March?
"I think the conduct was good. I don't think it could have been handled better. Do not forget that there were only three leagues that came back, and we were the only ones that came back in full format and everything went very well."
What was the most difficult moment of the crisis in all this time?
"At first, when they closed the basketball and we did not know when and if we would return. I had black in my eyes, it was a time of despair. It affected my life. Suddenly you also have to take workers to the hospital and it is very difficult.
It took us a while, we recovered and we came back to ourselves for these people for whom basketball is so expensive. "