An unprecedented revolt against national coach Jorge Vilda broke out in the Spanish team last year. But he didn’t leave. In fact, he crushed the rebellion hard. The big question is whether Spain is a team in the quarterfinals against the Orange.
One day in September, fifteen fire letters arrived at the Spanish football association RFEF. They had fifteen different senders, but they all had the same message: under this national coach, these fifteen players no longer wanted to play for Spain.
The reasons were all neatly stated. The atmosphere was sick, dealing with injuries would not be good and under this coach the players did not get the most out of the possibilities. “The situation significantly affects our emotional state,” all players wrote.
María Pilar León Cebrián, better known by her nickname Mapi León, led the uprising. And that was not just anyone: the player of FC Barcelona is seen as the best defender in the world. She received support from Alèxia Putellas, two-time winner of the Ballon d’Or.
Many national coaches would draw their own conclusions. But not Vilda. He crushed the rebellion. It can be seen in his selection policy: only three of the fifteen insurgents have been selected for this World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Spain
National coach: Jorge Vilda (Spa)
Star player: Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona)
Number of previous World Cup participations: 3
Best World Cup Performance: quarter-finals (2023)
World ranking: 6
Vilda is national coach and director
It comes as no surprise to many Spanish followers that Vilda is still in place, even though the Spanish federation called the uprising an “unprecedented situation in the history of football, for both men and women”.
The fact that Vilda wears two hats at the Spanish federation explains the situation. The 42-year-old Madrileen is not only the national coach of the women’s team, but is also technically responsible for all national women’s and girls’ teams. He essentially assesses his own performance.
And that’s not all. His father Angel Vilda, Johan Cruijff’s renowned running coach at FC Barcelona, is a powerful man within the association. Vilda senior coached the Spanish women under nineteen years for many years. His son took over in 2014.
Vilda senior remained involved behind the scenes. A year later, Vilda junior was not entirely coincidentally put forward as national coach. He replaced Ignacio Quereda, who had been the national coach of the Spanish women for no less than 27 years.
The reason for Quereda’s departure? The players had turned against him after a scoreless World Cup in 2015. Several players also accuse him of intimidation and sexual comments.
The fifteen mutinous players
Ainhoa Vicente, Lola Gallardo (Beiden Atlético Madrid), Sandra Paños, Mapi León, Clàudia Pina, Aitana Bonmatí, Marion CaldenteyPatri Guijarro (allen FC Barcelona), Leila Ouahabi, Laia Aleixandri (Beiden Manchester City), Lucía García, Ona Batlle (both Manchester United), Amaiur Sarriegi, Nerea Eizagirre (both Real Sociedad) and Andrea Pereira (Club América).
The names in bold apologized and have been selected for the World Cup.
Foto: Getty Images
Players were only allowed to return with an apology
Vilda junior’s approach after the uprising broke out can best be described as a reign of terror. Only if players would apologize would they have a chance of a place in the World Cup selection.
Only three players withdrew in the run-up to the tournament. But those were not the least: star players Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey (both FC Barcelona) and left back Ona Batlle (Manchester United).
It was a personal victory for Vilda, but the national coach nevertheless caused a lot of damage. Mapi León, a champion of equal rights for men and women, refused to apologize and is sitting at home.
Patri Guijarro, maker of two goals in the Champions League final in Eindhoven, was also not selected for that reason. And even worse: according to Spanish media, the team is divided by the crisis of 2022. There would be group formation.
Spain already went down against Japan in the group stage. Photo: Getty Images
‘Spanish team is divided’
Damaris Egurrola knows this better than anyone. She also does not play for Spain at the World Cup because of the presence of Vilda. After a conflict with the national coach, the midfielder opted for the Netherlands last year.
Egurrola still has many Spanish players. It hurts her to see the situation in Spain. “The saddest thing is that good friends have now stayed home because they spoke out about the problems,” she told the news agency on Wednesday ANP. “It’s a difficult situation for everyone, the Spanish team is divided.”
Orange can only benefit from spinning in Wellington. National coach Andries Jonker is firmly convinced that only a good atmosphere leads to good performances, he said against Spain two days before the quarterfinals.
And let that sit well in the Netherlands. Much better than Spain. Things went badly wrong in the group stage. Spain lost 4-0 to Japan. It was Spain’s biggest ever defeat at a World Cup. It cost star player Putellas her place in the starting line-up.
Spain-Netherlands
The quarterfinal between Spain and the Netherlands will be played on Friday at 03:00 Dutch time in the New Zealand capital Wellington. The game is led by the French top referee Stéphanie Frappart.
According to the KNVB, 30,780 tickets have been sold for the duel at the Wellington Regional Stadium by Thursday morning, 818 of which were Dutch. The stadium in Wellington can hold more than 34,500 spectators.
With a win over Spain, the Orange will play against Japan or Sweden in the semi-finals. That game will be played in Auckland on August 15. After two night-games in a row, the Orange finally plays again in the Dutch morning: at 10 AM.
