Six months ago, Spanish club FC Barcelona broke the attendance record for a women’s football match when 91,553 fans came to watch their match against Real Madrid at Camp Nou. They did it again a month later when 91,648 fans came to watch them play Wolfsburg in the Champions League semifinals. Between the increasing popularity of Liga F, the women’s equivalent of La Liga and the Spanish National Team, it seemed like women’s football in Spain was on the rise, but recent events have shown that there is still a long way to go. Here’s what’s happening with Liga F and the Spanish National Team.
What’s happening in Liga F
Transfers like Keira Walsh and Lucy Bronze to Barcelona and Caroline Weir to Real Madrid created hype for this season. The league rebranded from Primera Iberdrola to Liga F and announced a television deal with DAZN. Women’s football in Spain appeared ready to reach new heights. However, this buzz died down when league officials announced they were going on strike due to unequal pay and work environments before the season began. Players and fans were promised that matches would go on as scheduled, but all matches from the opening weekend ended up getting postponed because no officials showed up to work. The Spanish Football Federation and the referees resolved the strike on Thursday, so the season should start this weekend.
What’s happening with the Spanish National Team
The Spanish National Team went from the predicted winner of the Euros to a divided locker room within a few months. Head coach Jorge Vilda, who has been with the team since 2015, is the center of the team’s troubles. Vilda’s career as head coach contains many too-early exits from tournaments due to lackluster performances. Many expected Spain to win the Euros due to the quality of their team, but a 2-1 loss to England sent the team packing earlier than expected. Fans have wondered for years—how does a team with the likes of Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmatí and Irene Paredes continue to collapse early on in major tournaments?
Everything boiled over at the end of August when team captains Putellas, Paredes, and Patri Guijarro allegedly asked to have Vilda removed as head coach. This caused a major rift in the locker room, allegedly turning players against each other as some supported removing Vilda and some feared the consequences of speaking out. Vilda, Paredes, Guijarro and Jenni Hermoso held a press conference about the incident, but Vilda took up most of the time. He expressed that he only wanted dedicated players on the national team, meaning players who spoke up against him would likely not be back.
Is Vilda the new Quereda?
For fans of the Spanish National Team, this situation may remind them of 2015 ousting of Ignacio Quereda. Spanish superstar Vero Boquete famously led the revolt against Quereda, which led to his resignation. Despite being in their prime playing years, Boquete and her teammates, who played major roles in his departure, were phased out of the national team. So now the question stands: Will we see Paredes, Putellas, Guijarro and Hermoso play for the national team again? Only time will tell.
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