The IB2813 was the most searched flight this Monday -the fourth in the history of Flightradar24-, a charter baptized as ‘talent on board’ in which the world champions returned. The true protagonists of the last great page of Spanish sportcelebrated in style in Madrid.
The blur of the kiss forced by Luis Rubiales with Jenni Hermoso is in a different one. This reprehensible gesture has nothing to do with the naturalness of a group that was received by a crowd in Madrid after a marathon flight. The ‘jet-lag’ could weigh, but the selection is still in a cloud, because the sky furrowed in the last hours is his by rights.
A flood of red shirts flooded the T4 terminal of the Adolfo Suárez-Barajas airport to receive the champions, who landed at 9:18 p.m. on a hot Madrid afternoon. Most of them children, in the plural, accompanied by their fathers and mothers. Some wore the shirt with the first soccer star practiced by women that Adidas already sells.
Ivana Andrés, Vilda and Rubiales
As soon as the doors opened, the crew got ready to receive the champions with the Spanish flag in their hands. The first to leave was the captain, Ivana Andres, which proudly displayed the World Cup. The assembled media had the privilege of giving the champions their first home applause.
🛬 THEY ARE NOW HERE!!
⭐️ The #WorldChampions They have already landed at the Madrid airport and are heading to the party that you are all waiting for.
📺 GET IN @La1_tve, https://t.co/UQe8cIw34t and @TwitchES.
ℹ️ https://t.co/2ICN6QvB7C #PlayFightAndWin pic.twitter.com/OXVthlXdxk
— Spanish Women’s Soccer Team (@SEFutbolFem) August 21, 2023
The coach Jorge Vilda was next, although he was absent on the national team bus. He has known how to find his space these days. The players, despite the fatigue of such a long trip, came down with their medals around their necks and very smiling. “World champions! World champions!” They sang, while posing for the media next to the plane’s stairs.
Along with them, its president, Luis Rubiales, who took a photo with coach Jorge Vilda, captain Ivana Andrés and the trophy. The leader, far from betting on a low profile after the scandal, was still on the front line at the same time that the Vice President of the Government, Yolanda Díaz, asked for his resignation “because a woman has been harassed and assaulted.”
Olga, tucked in, Alexia, in silence
Tired and sleepy faces with many sunglasses that betrayed a long flight, from Sydney to Madrid with a stopover in Doha, for a group in which Tere Abelleira came down from the plane wrapped in the Galician flag and with the goalscorer Olga Carmona closely supported by all her teammates.
The entire expedition chewed over the loss of his father, whom he kept in mind at all times. “I know you would like to see me enjoy this historic moment, that’s why I’ll be with my companionsso that from wherever you are, you know that this star is also yours, dad,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
I have no words to thank all your love.
Yesterday was the best and the worst day of my life.
I know that you would like to see me enjoy this historic moment, that is why I will be with my colleagues, so that from wherever you are you know that this star is also yours, dad🌟 pic.twitter.com/U0FKunGdml
— Olga Carmona (@7olgacarmona) August 21, 2023
His brother, Tomás Carmona, also spoke on social networks: “My sister, my little girl, my ‘melli’. You have shown me that you are a strong, persevering and tenacious person. You have not stopped until you achieve your dream. Dad and all of us who love you are proud of your feat. Keep shining”.
Olga Carmona’s intervention was the most exciting during the celebration. “At times it was the best day of my life, then it became the worst. I am very excited to bring this joy to the whole country. Here you have the star that you wanted so much. Not only the one on the chest, but also the ones in the sky, “he claimed. For his part, Alexia Putellas kept her profile low. Despite the fact that she was questioned by the public on numerous occasions, she preferred not to speak.
Vilda: “I want to remember the ones that aren’t there”
getting off the plane, Salma Palalleulo, the best young player in the World Cup, kicked out a ball and some of her teammates took the opportunity to stretch their legs touching the ball. The master of ceremonies in this first contact with the celebration was Jenni Hermoso, the protagonist without uncomfortable guests.
After taking the satellite bus, they changed buses to get to Puerta de Alcalá, where they boarded a convertible that would finally take them to the epicenter of the party, next to the Manzanares river. A few meters from where the Vicente Calderón was located.
DJ Michenlo was responsible for warming up the atmosphere, followed by Camela -with her classic songs danced to and heard in the team’s locker room- and Vicco. Juan Magán and Farga continued with their songs at this great soccer party. They did it before a dedicated public, who fought against the heat, but who exceeded all expectations. More than 20,000 souls dedicated to a social change.
“I want to remember those that are not there”, assured Jorge Vilda, the second to speak in Madrid Río after captain Ivana Andrés. A comment with an inclusive tone, although without direct mention of the convulsive process that the team experienced in the run-up to the World Cup.
“Thank you for being our references”
Thirteen years after the men’s world title, in South Africa 2010, the women coached by Jorge Vilda made history by making Spain the second country, after Germany, to win the men’s and women’s World Cups. They will not be the last. The titles in grassroots football invite and convince you to imagine other magical nights.
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“Thank you for being our references”, It was the most repeated message in the endless number of posters displayed in Madrid Río. Pieces of cardboard shouted by a square conquered by soccer practiced by women. An imposing and gigantic reality, until not so long ago ostracized in the playgrounds.
The most important thing comes now: the day after. The hours, the days and the months that will confirm the real commitment to a sport that has put the direct towards professionalization. But the revalidation will come every day of the F League, where many of the 23 champions will come out of the great focus of the celebration and will fight for the film from Australia and New Zealand to become a cult series.