Talking with him coaching staff of the women’s Juvenil A of Europe in the press room at the Nou Sardenya, it seems easy to have spent a full lap in the top flight without losing a single game. They express themselves naturally and with a calm smile, the result of the satisfaction that comes from a job well done. In a competition that brings together major brands such as FC Barcelona, RCD Espanyol or CF DammAccumulating 16 consecutive days adding their games as victories or, in the worst case, draws is a titanic achievement, even more so if the economic differences between the aforementioned clubs and the escapuladas are taken into account.
It is also noteworthy that four of the five components that make up the ‘staff’ are women, and it is because it is an unprecedented event in the Youth Preferred. “As a woman and a football lover, it is something beautiful because it is difficult to see. It is becoming more common and hopefully it will normalize. It is an honor to belong to this team. Hopefully we can continue together because building this is not easy & rdquor ;, comments Elba de Vega, physical trainer.
“The bad part is that many times we have felt slighted for being women leading a team & rdquor ;, says Pili Porta, second coachto which he nods Judith Acedo, physical trainer, with a “every week” to pass the baton back to the second coach: “There is always someone who is free to say depending on what because they are women. The other day Nany (technical) got a yellow card for protesting and the rival coach, for the same reason, no”.
A coaching staff that paves the way
“Curiously, when we go to a field, they always address Yannick -the fifth member of the coaching staff- as if he were the coach. It would be nice if it wasn’t special to talk about a coaching staff of four women. I do not work with any of the three because I am a woman, but because I think they are the best and the ones that best complement me”, intervenes Nany Haces.
“It would be nice to be opening the way,” says Pili Porta, to which Nany Haces is added to reflect: “It would be nice if we were opening it because the work is good and not because we are women. I prefer that people say ‘how well this staff works and they are women’ and not say ‘they are women, let’s see how they work’. I would like to bet on a way of working and not on the genre & rdquor ;. As Elba de Vega says, “it’s a matter of hiring professionals.”
“The idea is a bit distorted and since you don’t see women in the front line, it seems that they are worthless. There is a lack of brave people in the clubs, especially among those who run it. People who have time to see the work being done. If women are not at the highest level and you are only going to look for the highest level, the reality is that there will never be women. At the base there are very good people to make the jump, you just have to go see them & rdquor ;, says Nany Haces.
A record of maximum difficulty
Pili Porta catalogs what is happening to the European Women’s Youth A as a “small miracle & rdquor ;, to which Nany Haces points out: “We have done something that I had never seen in the years I have been here. Not losing any game in a league with teams with more resources that give rise to having differential players”.
The adventure started in the summer with ten additions. “It is the season that began with more doubts. Not even in the best dreams did we think we would get here & rdquor ;, values Haces. They also brought in Elba de Vega, who had been in the first team, to lead the physical preparation together with Judith Acedo, who is in her third season at the club: “When they proposed it to me, I didn’t hesitate, it was an opportunity. Work together, learn and be in the Europe. It has been very easy and bearable because we have a lot of communication. It has been like a red carpet & rdquor ;.
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“The pre-season generated a lot of expectations, which were combined with the victory against Barça on the first day & rdquor ;, recalls Nany Haces. After that, Europa had a complex stretch of the season where they had to resolve up to seven games in the last few minutes: “The following results made us put our feet on the ground because we saw that we were at a very early stage of what we wanted. Now we are strong because at the beginning we had games that got stuck and we left points in fields that we should not have left. We know how to live in adversity, aware that anything can happen until the last minute.”
A process of a lot of sports work complemented with psychological work, something that has fallen more on Pili Porta, Elba de Vega and Judith Acedo, as the latter acknowledges: “There is a lot of difference between players in terms of age and mentality. Some are more mature than others and that fusion has helped us find the balance & rdquor ;. “At times our emotions have made us have a distorted vision because in reality we were a vulnerable rival and anyone, if we were not well, could beat us”, points out Haces.
End to unbeaten
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The unbeaten streak ended in the first game of the second round against Barça at the Nou Sardenya. “It was a painful defeat because of the result & rdquor ;, all four agree. Doubts surfaced again, increased two games later with the defeat at Girona (1-0). It was not until this weekend, achieving a comfortable victory at Levante Las Planas by 0-3, that the team returned to good form. Despite the importance given to the results, the coaching staff assures that the objective has never been to win the League at the end of the season.
“The greatest reward is seeing how players who were unmotivated last year have now regained their enthusiasm. The climate that is breathed here, with the first team looking after them, makes them in the ideal situation to get their best performance & rdquor ;, says Haces. Something that Pili Porta shares from her perspective as second coach and second captain of the first team: “It is also a reward to see how the players you have trained come to help us every weekend”. “That the Juvenil A soccer players are starting with the first team in Europe that is playing the league is spectacular & rdquor ;, Haces proudly sentences.