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Don’t let anyone tell you that you need to like your coach to win a championship.
Spain has completed a remarkable journey, from bitter division to ultimate glory, winning the Women’s World Cup 1-0 over England.
But it comes amid an ongoing divide between the players and the hugely disliked coach Jorge Vilda – who almost nobody in global football believes is worthy of the job, never mind winning the World Cup.
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As Spain celebrated its victory on Sunday night at Sydney’s Stadium Australia, one photo summed it all up, as shared by The Independent’s Miguel Delaney.
The coaches were at one end of the ground. The players were at the other.
Eventually the groups joined up but there was a clear and obvious divide even amid the wild scenes, with Vilda trying to party with his players – but everyone ignoring him.
Last September, Vilda had 15 players publicly refuse to be selected any longer in an incendiary open letter to the Spanish football federation.
Vilda was just the focal point of their fury after years of neglect, with personal complaints about his condescending treatment of players, his poor training sessions and lack of tactical nous. Put simply, he was seen as a man woefully out of his depth.
But their real complaints ran much deeper: poor training facilities and treatment by the federation, who for many years were viewed as treating the women’s game as a sideshow.
Vilda kept his job despite the explosive actions of those 15 players, with Spain’s federation RFEF hitting back by telling them they would be exiled unless “they admit their mistake and ask for forgiveness”. The names of the players were leaked to the media, as was the contents of the player letter that had been sent in private.
11 of the players eventually relented and put their hands up for World Cup selection. Vilda chose just three: Mariona Caldentey, Aitana Bonmatí and Ona Batlle, each of whom played crucial roles in their historic run.
The coach, whose father Ángel is the head of women’s football in the Spanish federation, has maintained a frosty relationship even with the players who are at the World Cup – the players hardly include him in their celebrations after victories, while one team picture shows him standing awkwardly to the side.
Now, eight years into his tenure, Vilda is a World Cup champion – the team’s first major trophy and one which might seem overdue given the depth of talent at his disposal.
