Spain water polo legend Felipe Perrone will retire with no regrets after world c'ships
Asked if Hungary should be wary of him when they meet Spain in their final World Aquatics Championships (WCH) Group B match on July 16 – which decides who proceeds directly to the quarter-finals – the 39-year-old responded with a laugh: 'We cannot do this now, but back then I was just a kid and it was a big guy holding me down, so I did that to get away from him.'
While Perrone has gone on to earn a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), he has also become an accomplished water polo player with one world title, one World Cup triumph and one European crown among 14 medals.
His illustrious career will end in Singapore after a record 13th WCH appearance, and fans should grasp every last opportunity to watch the maestro make his last grapples in the OCBC Aquatic Centre pool before he hangs up his cap.
The Brazil-born Spaniard had previously indicated he would retire after past world championships and Paris 2024, and had sat out of world No. 2 Spain's victorious World Cup campaign in January.
But he explained to The Straits Times on July 14, after helping his team to a 10-7 win over 11th-ranked Australia, that he is hanging around for one last hurrah.
He still enjoys playing and national coach David Martin had asked him to stay and help the team during this transition period.
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When asked if adding another world title to the 2022 triumph would make for a fairy-tale finish, Perrone said with a smile: 'For 30 years, water polo has taken me further than I ever dreamed. My career is already perfect.
'Of course, I would like to win and it will be amazing if we win here. But I think my career goes much further than the results.
'I gave everything in the water in every game, and sometimes I was lucky to win, and sometimes I couldn't. Life goes on and there will be other goals and ambitions, that's life.'
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Perrone also had dual nationality as his grandmother was Spanish. Influenced by his water polo-playing father and older brother, he was always at the pool where he preferred to play with the ball than just swim. At home, they would use the couch as the goal and simulate the game in the living room.
He never expected to have the career he has had. He played for Brazil at the 2016 Olympics and for Spain at the 2008, 2012, 2020 and 2024 Games. At club level, he has won 17 Spanish league titles and the Champions League three times. Over the years, he has won respect for his versatility, explosiveness, accuracy and leadership.
The 1.82m, 88kg Perrone said: 'As it is with Singapore athletes, I'm not so big, I'm not so strong. So, I've always tried to work really hard, be focused on every training session and improve my way of playing the game with the bigger guys because it's always a challenge.'
His other sporting passions in BJJ, surfing and spearfishing have helped him become a better player.
Perrone, who started out playing as a left driver, but now plays more on the right and as a centre-back, added: 'I don't use BJJ to hurt any one, but there's knowledge I can use when I play as a centre-back. And I also find the calm and balance from surfing and spearfishing useful in water polo.'
These are the things he would like to do more of after he retires, and he is also looking forward to spending more summers with his family.
But there is one last assignment and, as the team's talisman, he knows he cannot let emotions get the better of him.
He said: 'My life has been conditioned by the sport. We spend a lot of hours in the water and have just one ambition every year, which is water polo. We have built such a big community, and I will miss the relationships I had with everyone as an athlete.
'But I've tried to avoid thinking about the end because there are too many emotions. I cannot be playing and crying, so I just try to enjoy it as I always do with world championships.'
In the other Group B match on July 14, world No. 3 Hungary beat the 12th-ranked Japan 23-18 to go top on goal difference.
Meanwhile, world No. 38 Singapore are consigned to the 13th-16th play-offs after losing 22-10 to 13th-ranked Canada (13th) in Group C, while the sixth-ranked United States beat world No. 10 Brazil 16-7.
The hosts held on to the positives, which include the 4-4 final quarter in the 19-8 loss to Brazil on July 12 and holding Canada to a 5-5 draw in the first quarter.
National men's coach Kan Aoyagi said: 'Our attack is not bad, but we are losing out on the little details which we need to get used to when training at this world standard every day.
'Our body size is different, so we must be smart not to compete in terms of strength. We must compete in terms of speed, positioning and technique. The gap is not so big, and we can do more.'
Goh Wen Zhe, Singapore's top scorer with four goals, added: 'We were a bit shocked by Brazil's level, whereas today we expected the level we would be playing against, so we went in fighting and swinging like we had nothing to lose. We went into the game without thinking about the score, and just focused on the next attacking and next defensive play.
'We tried to maintain concentration but it's not easy, and this is something for us to improve on from here.'
In Group A, Romania thumped South Africa 24-5, while the seventh-ranked Italy pipped Olympic champions and world No. 5 Serbia 4-3 on penalties after a topsy-turvy 13-13 draw.
Defending champions and world No. 1 Croatia edged out the 11th-ranked Montenegro 13-11 in Group D, while Greece thumped China 26-5.
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