Shop
ASOBAL handball has built its identity from innate competitiveness, a primal emotion, and the figure of fans, coaches, and players. A legacy of more than 40 years in constant expansion on the court and the ecosystem of the current Liga NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL. Gonzalo Pérez Arce is a link in that chain that transcends the routine of the present, from season to season. A career in motion connected to the mark of sporting excellence of the ?All Star ASOBAL? and the status of being one of the top scorers in the modern history of the professional competition. The goal, from efficiency, without pretensions, as a tool put at the service of ABANCA Ademar León, which this afternoon plays a new edition of the ?Match of the Day? against Tubos Aranda Villa de Aranda (7 p.m., live on ASOBAL TV, Teledeporte, and Eurosport).
The right wing has become, since his return to the Palacio Municipal de los Deportes Urbano González in the summer of 2025, the cornerstone of the Ademar project and the most voracious offensive specialist in the circuit. His range of goal-scoring resources has led him to be the leader of the current top scorers ranking?with the MVP Nexus Energía for September included?continuing a 2025/2026 season that crowned him as the best right wing of the Liga NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL and a figure of 231 goals scored, the seventh best in the history of the professional competition.
?The people in my closest circle, my friends, my family, told me it was crazy. I needed to slow down and be calm, without stress, to sit down, take stock, and see things with more perspective. That?s when I became a bit more aware of the historic ranking figure,? says Gonzalo Pérez Arce, 28 years old, being analytical with his personal success, matured, placing the ?everyone? in first position. ?I think I?m at the best moment of my career, but if I said I expected to achieve these numbers, I?d be lying. I was clear that I would give whatever was needed, whatever the team required. I returned to Ademar to try to help in whatever I could, with the maturity of my experience abroad. It was like taking on my responsibility. It simply comes to you, you have to take it, embrace it, and find a way to always be useful. I don?t want to obsess. I seek a balance between pressure and responsibility, so it?s not a weight I can?t manage. I think it?s dangerous to normalize that a player can score 8 goals in every game; it?s a double-edged sword because there will be days when I?m not that good, and I also want to be aware of that. Thanks to the coach, my teammates, and the atmosphere we have in the locker room, everything is much easier,? he adds.
The Ademar spirit as a sporting engine
The right wing has worked hard to end up as a headliner of the Liga NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL. Treating praise with work. That?s how he reached the elite, without forced effervescence, always from the feeling of belonging to Ademar. ?If I?m honest, in the lower categories, I wasn?t the player who stood out the most. It was hard for me to have a growth spurt. My friends, who played with me, are the same height as when we were 13 years old. From the youth categories, I did start to show I had goal-scoring ability. Everything ended up focused on fulfilling my dream of being a player for ABANCA Ademar León. When they called me for the first time for a preseason, I couldn?t believe it. It?s something inexplicable. From there, everything happened in fast-forward, on autopilot, and things happened that I never imagined. From sharing training sessions with my idols, with Juanín García, who has taught me a lot, with lifelong friends like Mario López or Jaime Fernández, to playing with my brother on the first team. I think it?s a pride to be able to achieve it in the team of your city, where you grew up. Also, reaching the senior national team or playing abroad, to learn and grow. I look back and feel very fortunate,? he says, directly linked to the white of his club, his place in the world, and the Liga NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL.
He analyzes from the feeling and experience of having been part of other great international handball stages. A broad view to value?even more?the liturgy of ?Game Day? from León. ?It seems that returning to ASOBAL handball has been frowned upon, as if it?s because you come to retire or because it?s a lesser competition. It?s an impostor syndrome. I have found a much more competitive league, which has grown and has the ambition to keep doing important things. It?s something you see every matchday and in European competitions, with Spanish teams winning and showing the level we have here. You see young players coming up from the lower categories and they all have something special; they are technical, they have talent. All the teams in the world watch them. I think we are a reference,? he points out, completing the inside profile. ?The Liga NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL is greatly underestimated. I have played in several foreign leagues. I have been in Poland and I?m clear that our competition is several steps ahead of their domestic championship, both in teams and in quality of play. I think here we are going in the right direction to keep growing and return to the highest dimension,? he insists.
The MVP Nexus Energía for September is a fundamental part of the machinery that moves the professional competition. A role that starts and lives in his commitment and ambition with the goals of ABANCA Ademar León. ?The Liga NEXUS ENERGÍA ASOBAL is becoming more competitive than ever. Leaving Barça aside, any team can take the two points each matchday. Very good projects are being made at all levels. From the teams fighting for Europe to the newly promoted, who have reinforced very well with important players from the competition. We want to be in the top positions. We come from a summer of many changes, with important departures and arrivals like Juan (Castro) and Adri (Casqueiro). We are adapting the pieces to improve in attack and defense. The style of play is the one we have historically had here, the one that has defined Ademar, defending, running, and taking the game at a high pace. Running benefits us a lot. We have to find the balance and that way we will start scoring and scoring. Surely we will reap the rewards,? he explains. Tubos Aranda Villa de Aranda, the first step.
