Disgraced Spanish women's national team coach takes on Morocco job
The Spanish women's national team won the World Cup this summer, but its staggering achievement was overshadowed by scandal and sexism.
Spanish coach Jorge Vilda wound up reviled by his players for creating an environment of disrespect and complacency, while Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales wound up reviled by everyone for forcibly kissing forward Jenni Hermoso.
Vilda initially defended Rubiales's actions but changed his tune after it became clear that the public was firmly on Hermoso's side. Rubiales went on to fire Vilda before resigning from his post as the head of the Spanish soccer federation.
Vilda didn't have to wait long to find a new home. It was announced this week that the Moroccan Soccer Federation had hired Vilda to coach its women's national team.
Morocco is experiencing something of a golden age in soccer. Its men's team became the first African nation to reach the semifinals of a World Cup last winter, beating powerhouses like Belgium, Spain and Portugal along the way.
Morocco's women's team, meanwhile, made its World Cup debut this summer and performed admirably. It bounced back from a 6-0 loss against Germany to beat South Korea and Colombia and qualify for the knockout rounds of the tournament.
Many in Morocco are celebrating Vilda's hire. He's a World Cup-winning coach with a strong pedigree in the women's game, after all, and fans hope his arrival will bring more momentum to the Moroccan women.
Others, though, are not so positive.
Vilda's dismissal from the Spain job didn't just come down to the Rubiales scandal. He'd been burning bridges with his players for nearly a decade--before the World Cup, 15 of his 23 players resigned en masse in protest of his methods. They called him "dictatorial" and claimed his coaching methods were "inadequate." While many were coaxed back into the fold under extreme pressure from Rubiales and the Spanish federation, none were pleased about Vilda's job being protected at their expense.
While Vilda should absolutely have the opportunity to learn from his mistakes, many fans of women's soccer bemoan the fact that he's moved into another high-level position in the sport so quickly. With women's soccer on the rise across the globe, it's difficult to justify giving big positions to people who haven't shown appropriate respect for the game and its players.
It's now Vilda's responsibility to show the world--and, most importantly, Morocco's female athletes--that he has grown significantly as a coach and a person.
Vilda's Morocco will take on Namibia in Olympic qualifying on Monday, Oct. 23
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