IAN HERBERT: The mystery of Spain, a team in turmoil yet still in the World Cup final
As World Cup final press conferences go, it was about as excruciating as you can get and not encouraging for a Spanish team hoping to beat England on Sunday.
Spain’s gifted Ballon d’Or holder, Alexia Putellas, sat next to the manager, Jorge Vilda, on Saturday, steadfastly avoiding any eye contact with him, while Vilda steadfastly ignored any demand that the players openly revolt against him.
When it was presented to him that Spain was in a state of ‘anarchy’ and ‘crisis’, with 15 players – six from Barcelona – declaring themselves unavailable for selection here, he ignored the question and simply asked for another .
Vilda is so blatantly loathed by some players that they ignored him as he walked onto the pitch after the semi-final win against Sweden. He seems immune to this, declaring ‘Gracias y vamos Espana’ as his half hour in the freezer came to an end on Saturday.
You would have thought he might have gotten the message by now, having made a path to Barcelona to speak to those who think he should have been sacked after Spain lost to England in the European Championship last summer and largely failed.
Spain’s women’s squad is in turmoil, but somehow made it to the World Cup final in Sydney
Manager Jorge Vilda (pictured above) is clearly loathed by some Spanish players
Star player Alexia Putellas (left) couldn’t even look Vilda in the eye during their press conference
Three players – Aitana Bonmati, Ona Batlle and Putellas – returned to the squad, but the exiles include three of the best in the country: defensive midfielder Patri Guijarro, central defense mainstay Mapi Leon and goalkeeper Sandra Panos.
You don’t have to have the best friend group.
“We are a group on the field,” said Vilda striker Jennifer Hermoso after the semi-final.
Vilda’s autocratic management style is said to be the main source of antipathy and players are told to keep the doors to their rooms open until midnight.
Foreign. But no tangible evidence has emerged.
Many players simply think that Vilda’s game management just isn’t enough.
Part of the team that lost 2-1 to England in the quarter-finals of the European Championship last summer were outraged by Vilda’s decision to sit back on a lead and remove striker Esther Gonzalez in the 77th minute as Spain drew 1-0 stood in front.
England equalized seven minutes later.
Vilda is protected by Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales, who will not remove him.
That governing body has engaged in a rearguard action, seeking a larger support staff for the players in an attempt to appease them.
Spain has extra physios, a podiatrist and an extra chef here, and has paid the bill of 15,000 euros to fly out players’ relatives.
They now have as many support staff as the men’s team and reside at the luxurious Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney.
Vilda cannot be accused of total incompetence.
He was the one who called Salma Paralluelo, the lightning fast 19-year-old left winger and former Spanish junior record holder in the 400m who will be a test for Lucy Bronze and Jess Carter in the final.
He was also more willing to make changes, changing goalkeepers after the 4-0 group stage defeat to Japan and bringing in Cata Coll.
He has a good relationship with the Real Madrid players and made two of them – Ivana Andres and Esther Gonzalez – his captains, alongside Atletico’s Irene Guerrero.
The Manchester United player Batlle was the star player and operated on both wings. Bonmati has taken over the main creative mantle from Putellas.
Spain seems pathologically doomed to this kind of struggle.
Some despise Vilda so much that they totally ignored him in celebration of the semi-final victory
Vilda was not hired until the whole squad called on coach Ignacio Quereda to resign following his elimination from the 2015 World Cup.
But Spain’s national TV steadfastly ignored the tension at the press conference all Saturday. Non-Spanish journalists asked the tough questions.
If there is one country that can operate a bus in name only, it is Spain. The team follows the usual Spanish blueprint of possession.
It seems like a miracle that they made it to their first final, but privately the players feel that they, a golden generation, should win a trophy.
Sarina Wiegman was asked on Saturday what she thought of Vilda. She conveniently forgot to answer the question.