In an interview with Károly Eperjes, the deeply religious Kossuth and Jászai prize-winning actor, the role of faith, the relationship between faith and sport, and his own view of sport were discussed.
What does faith mean to you?
Doing everything with faith is better than without faith. Sports, acting, journalism or anything else. The question is what and especially in whom one believes. With faith, it is easier for a person to recognize that he receives his abilities from God. If you recognize this, you will do well, because with the help of faith you can improve your abilities. How long this is enough in today's world is another question. My belief is that as it is written in the Bible, all things are possible through faith. But without faith...
When a person tries to make a decision based on their faith, it often seems like they will fail at the moment, but the decision will pay off later.
When there is an opportunity that can be predicted to have no minimal social benefit, no matter how difficult it may be, it must be given up. I have been able to do this on numerous occasions - thank God.
Football remains his love, acting is his profession
Was it a similar situation when you gave up on becoming a professional footballer at a young age?
During my student years, a significant number of boys wanted to be national team soccer players, the best soccer players of the time were so attractive. I made it to the reserve team of Videoton, and once during a preparatory match, the honest, clean and very good professional, the fondly remembered Uncle Feri Kovács, put me in the first team, but it turned out that I couldn't last at that level.
My father, a teacher, asked the master of the reserves, uncle Lajos Németh, if he would take me to another club. The answer was, not for the world! - So good? asked my father. "No, but they love it so much," came the answer.
It's true, I took the floor in the dressing room, the others were already referring to me as an actor. Even if we lost, I still had to improve the mood - sometimes I managed to increase this to the point of punishment...
He gave up his football career, and soon another opportunity opened up for him, in 1976 he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts.
After a year and a half in the military, I started college and immediately organized a soccer team there and got the sports life going. Uncle Bandi Komlós took me to the acting team, later I took over his management from him, and I passed the team on to Karcsi Nemcsák, and he was succeeded by Péter Puskás.
It is known that he is still a passionate fan of Ferencváros. As usual, as a paternal inheritance?
My childhood friends at Fertő Lake, Hegykő, were all Dózsa fans. We were the second in the village to have a TV, so often thirty or forty reactionary members of the village gathered in the great room, sometimes one or two children even got under the table.
My father heard that I was also struggling, so he called me to the kitchen at halftime. He said: Your uncle the priest, your grandfather and I too, we are all Fradi-druckers. An honest, Christian, Hungarian child is rooting for Fradi. In the second half, I was already chanting »Let's go, Fradi!«.
Later, when he was on a training camp at Fradi Petőháza, my father took me to a preparatory match there as a reward. Later, we also visited Budapest for a live match. It was there that I saw Albert for the first time and my other, later favorite, Pál Orosz, who also joined my futsal team.
Until death, Fradi
Are you still connected to Fradi?
Maximally. I was also training with the old boys the other day. He is very well, mentally, physically and spiritually. Even if a ball hit my left forearm a month and a half ago during the Sunday morning "Flóri football" that required surgery.
And how do you see the situation of Hungarian football in general?
Bernd Storck has already made great strides, but the appointment of Marco Rossi was a truly sensational move. The academies are once again operating at a higher standard, and we can witness spectacular progress. I strongly agree with Viktor Orbán's opinion, we will be able to talk about the next step when we have three or four strong club teams at the international level. It is now a proven fact that serious progress can be made with Hungarian players. A good example of this is Kecskemét, where the "head game" of the intelligent coach István Szabó can be seen in his team. The Paks system is also nice. And I expect a lot from the younger Kuznetsov, who thinks well about football, in Diósgyőr.
András Balczó, the hero of heroes
How much do you follow other sports? Hungary is a defining nation in Olympic history.
It is fantastic that we are among the first ten or fifteen nations. I pay particular attention to the traditionally successful Hungarian sports. So I follow water sports, kayaking, swimming, water polo, but also pentathlon, fencing and wrestling. And there is always someone like László Hammerl in sports shooting. I see that in previous decades, school physical education was mostly equated with athletics, but today professional sports are also able to draw more from young people. I think that basic athletic training should definitely be strengthened. A good example of this is father Szoboszlai, who raised his son's basic physical condition to a known level. For example, he played with a golf ball in his hand so that he would not want to solve certain body positions with his hands.
Do you have a favorite in Hungarian sports?
For me, the choice is clear: András Balczó, whom I hold in high esteem both as a person and as a sportsman. Even after the Kósa film, he put his talents to good use with his performances on the road. This activity of his is perhaps even more important than if he later played a major role as a leader in the 5th.
The Mission was a huge push in my life. As a college student, he inspired me to take my skills very seriously.
I have to mention two outstanding sportsmen: László Papp and Albert Flórián. And then we didn't even talk about the ladies, from Krisztina Egerszegi, Egérke to Tímea Nagy, and of course we can't forget about the Athletes of the Nation. It was also an extra experience for me that I could regularly meet the members of the Golden Team during the theater performances. As the main character of the film 6:3, I was a part of them even when Uncle Öcsi was only supported by his peers for a while. It was a hard time, I had tears...
We are just hearing the noon bell at the Máriaremete church. What kind of thoughts does the spirit of the place make you think of?
The Good Lord must have been very happy when he created sports and the arts. And for the fact that I was able to be active in sports and art all my life, I can only bless God. I couldn't have gotten more than that!
Featured image: Károly Eperjes still plays football (Nemzeti Sport/Csaba Dömötör)
