Jorge Vilda: Spain’s women’s national soccer team appoints its first coach after sacking its predecessor amid fallout from an unwanted kiss at the World Cup

CNN
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Spanish women soccer The team appointed its first ever female coach after her predecessor was sacked the same day amid ongoing fallout over an unwanted kiss given to a player in the Women’s World Cup final by football president Luis Rubiales.

Only hours later Jorge Vielda After he was removed from his position as coach of the team, the Spanish Football Federation announced that he would be replaced by his deputy, Montse Tomé.

Tomi will be the first woman to take charge of the women’s national team, and her first match will be on September 22 against Sweden.

The moves come as part of a major change in Spanish football since Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Federation, forcibly kissed striker Jennifer Hermoso on August 20.

Rubiales apologized for his actions and described the kiss as “mutual”, which Hermoso denied, saying it was disrespectful. He has been suspended for 90 days by FIFA, while disciplinary proceedings are ongoing.

In a statement announcing Filda’s sacking, the RFEF said Filda “was key to the remarkable growth of women’s football and leaves Spain world champions and number two in the FIFA rankings.”

The federation described the move as “one of the first restructuring measures announced by (interim) President Pedro Rocha.”

Vilda has been coaching the women’s national team since 2015. “The Spanish Football Federation appreciates his work at the helm of the national team and his responsibilities as the maximum sporting figure in the women’s national teams, as well as the successes he achieved during his tenure, which culminated in the title.” The statement added that the recent achievement of the World Cup.

She also praised Vilda’s “impeccable personal and sporting behavior” as a “key part of the remarkable growth of women’s football in Spain”, describing him as a “promoter of the values ​​of respect and sportsmanship in football”.

Filda, who previously coached Spain’s U-17 and U-19 women’s national teams, was captain La Roja She won her first Women’s World Cup title last month with a 1-0 victory over England in the final.

However, the success on the field belied the tense atmosphere in the team and the long-standing animosity between some of the best players in the country, the Filda coaching staff and the Spanish Football Federation.

After the team’s victories over the Netherlands and Sweden in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the World Cup, videos circulated on social media of what appeared to be cold reactions from some of Spain’s substituted players towards Filda and his staff, as well as during the post-match period. parties.

One of the clips showed Filda trying to celebrate with a few players after the win over the Netherlands, but he seemed to be ignored.

The players’ discontent dates back to September last year, when 15 members of the women’s first team sent personally signed letters to the RFEF via email announcing that they would no longer play for the national team unless sweeping changes were made throughout. coaching staff.

The identical messages said that the “situation” within the Spanish national team – which the Spanish Football Federation was “aware of” – was affecting the players’ “emotional state” and their health.

“As a consequence, I do not currently consider myself in a position to be selected for the national team and request that I not be called up until the situation is resolved,” the letter read.

Of the 15 players who signed the letters, only three were in Spain’s World Cup squad: Mariona Caldente, Aetana Bonmati and Una Patel.

CNN previously contacted the Spanish Football Federation and Vilda for comment on the letter but did not receive a response. After its release, Vilda described the situation as a “global embarrassment” and said the solution was to build a team “only with players 100% committed to the project”.

The controversy surrounding Filda intensified after the World Cup final, as footage from the match showed him inappropriately touching a female employee while celebrating Spain’s goal against England. Vilda did not respond to questions about the incident when contacted by CNN via RFEF.

And when Rubiales, speaking before the federation’s Extraordinary General Assembly last month, refused to resign from his position, he also offered his support to Vilda and said he had begun the process of offering the coach a new four-year contract for around $542,000 (500,000 euros). ) year.

“On another level, much younger (than my situation), but they wanted to do to you what they’re doing to me now,” Rubiales said at the time.

A false narrative to try to turn it into reality. We suffered a lot, we went through a lot, we swallowed a lot, but we were together: you, me and your team.

Felda, like many in the room, was seen applauding Rubiales across the board. However, the next day, he issued a statement condemning the actions of the embattled football president.

“I am deeply sorry that the triumph of Spanish women’s football has been damaged by the inappropriate behavior of our supreme captain so far, Luis Rubiales, which he himself has admitted,” Filda said in the statement, which was widely shared. According to Spanish media.

Prior to Spain’s success in the Women’s World Cup, Vilda led the team to the knockout stages of the 2019 tournament and to the quarter-finals in succession at the European Championships in 2017 and 2022.

As coach of the country’s women’s youth teams, he has twice won the European Under-17 Championship and also the European Under-19 Championship.