Spain face the one that can and should be the best European Championship of its history in England. Five years after losing in the Euro 2017 quarter-finals against Austria, the team should play for the continental crown with rivals such as Sweden, France, Germany and the current champion, the Netherlands.
But he will do it with a rarefied atmosphere around the group and without a natural lead in the team. This is how the coach wanted it Jorge Vildawho has made several controversial decisions that are beyond logic in the conception of a group dominated, how could it be otherwise, by the Barcelona players.
Nestled in group B, along with a power like Germany, a very dangerous Denmark and the tough Finland, the Spanish are first in the bets to win the title. Something that contrasts with its classification in the rankings, being seventh in the world classification and fifth in Europe. His favoritism is explained by the 18 wins in his last 21 games.
Vilda is clearly committed to a young block, in which 11 of the 23 selected have no experience in the final phases of an absolute international tournament. “There are players who have not yet been to a tournament like this, but we have players with experience both at the national team level in lower categories and at clubs. This mixture of veterans and younger players is going to give us freshness in the game”, he pointed out the coach with optimism.
“We are still in the same place we were, with our feet on the ground, we know where we are going and where we come from. Also what our rivals are doing”
Jorge Vilda, Spanish coach
However, the election of the 23 chosen for the European Championship has raised many blisters. To begin with, the team arrives without its top scorer, Jennifer Beautiful, who is left out due to an injury, but with a few words that invite one to think that there is something more behind his absence: “I am calm because I did and put everything on my part to be able to be there. I tried to be able to arrive, I put everything that was in my hand, but it didn’t depend on me, I didn’t make the decision… In the end I have to watch the European Championship from home. I have a lot of football ahead of me, there is soon a World Cup, a possible Olympics, but I don’t know what the future will bring me future”. To replace her, Vilda chose the young Salma Paralluelo18 years old, who also arrived hit and in the end she fell.
And contrary to expectations, the coach has decided to leave out the two gunners of a Real Sociedad that has come second, becoming the revelation of the league. Against all odds, neither Amaiur Sarriegi nor Nerea Eizagirre will be in England. The player from Tolosa scored 16 goals this season and gave seven assists, while her 21-year-old teammate scored 17 goals and offered nine goal passes. But without Hermoso and with Paralluelo being absent at the last minute, Vilda has preferred to call Real Madrid midfielder Teresa Abelleira. Which leaves the team with a significant goal deficit in an incomprehensible decision.
The coach himself pointed out in this regard: “If I were a Real Sociedad fan I would also be angry with the coach. But I don’t pay attention to which club each player plays for to make the list.” With this context, a Spain lands in the European Championship that will be aware of whether Irene Paredes, the captain of this team, is in a position to offer the best version of herself after an untimely injury to her thigh.
In midfield, the triplet made up of Alexia Putellas, Guijarro and Bonmati must set the pace of the games. Alexia is the team’s offensive leader, after completing a good season, with 27 goals in 33 games, and after winning the Ballon d’Or. Everything indicates that the Barça star will fight for the Golden Boot in the tournament with England’s Ellen White, a Manchester City player, PSG’s French striker Kakoto, and Arsenal striker and attacking benchmark for the Netherlands Vivianne Miedema.
“We shouldn’t freak out. Spain, at an absolute level, hasn’t done anything important yet. The European Championship is very complicated. There are people who expect us to win, but I hope people calm down. We must be aware of who we are and where we are”
Aitana Bonmatí, Barça player
Despite arriving in the group of favorites, from the group they flee from that euphoria that surrounds the selection. For Vilda, “we are still in the same place we were, with our feet on the ground, we know where we are going and where we come from. We also know what our rivals are doing”.
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Putellas he warns that “there are eight teams that can win. We’re going to give it our all, but this is a marathon. There are as many other teams that go with the same idea. Once in England, we’ll see what happens.”
and the azulgrana Bonmati is the most graphic: “We should not freak out. Spain, at an absolute level, has not done anything important yet and we are on the way. We have had two very good years. People expect a lot from us, but we have Finland, Denmark and Germany , a very difficult group. The European Championship is very complicated. There are people who expect us to win, but I hope that people will calm down. We must be aware of who we are and where we are basically.”
Vilda, son of Johan Cruyff’s physical trainer
Jorge Vilda faces a historic opportunity to lead the women’s team to the top. Coach questioned for his controversial decisions, the man from Madrid has followed in the footsteps of his father Angel Vildawho was physical trainer of Johan Cruyff in his years at Futbol Club Barcelona. The father of the current coach was also the coach of the U-17 and U-19 women’s soccer teams. Jorge formed a tandem with his father when in 2010 he took charge of the U-17, leaving his father the U-19. With this selection he won two European Championships, two European runner-ups, a world bronze, a European bronze and a world runner-up. Three years later, in 2014, he replaced his father on the U-19 bench, a season in which he was nominated as the best female world coach by FIFA. Vilda has relied on the weight of Barcelona, which has ten players in the 23-player squad, to which she has added the participation of players from Real Madrid, Atlético, Levante, Manchester United and Athletic. She highlights the absence of players from Real Sociedad, which has been proclaimed runner-up in the Iberdrola league.