FC Barcelona goalkeeper Catalina Coll (Marratxí, Mallorca, 2001) speaks to La Vanguardia after a few intense weeks after the earthquake unleashed by the Rubiales case. She arrives smiling at the Fútbol Emotion store to receive a tribute as a world champion and present her new SP Earhart gloves. She answers questions with the same temperance with which she catches the ball defending her goal.
Do you feel that the greatest success of your careers has been stolen from you?
Yes. At first, with all the euphoria, I was not aware of what had happened. Then you start to analyze it and you see things that are not normal. It bothered me personally that there was more talk about that topic than about being world champions. But I believe that justice will do its job, that everything will go well and that we will be remembered as the first generation that won the World Cup.
Their fight has made it possible to achieve unprecedented change for women's football. Do you feel part of history?
Yes we are sorry. In the end, I see Alexia, Irene, Jenni and all those who are no longer here and everything they have fought for... How can I not follow this path? It is something unthinkable. Earning that star has been possible thanks to many people who have fought for years. We young women are super aware of all this, and I am very grateful to them for all the work they have done; It is admirable.
What was it like receiving the call from the national team?
I was in Malaga on vacation with my friends and I received a call. They tell me that I am going to be called up, that they trust me, that we are going to see how these two weeks of training go and that I could be on that list. I felt a lot of emotion. He was coming off a very difficult year with the injury. I was thinking about my vacation, about disconnecting to return better to Barça. And that was a shot of adrenaline, seeing that they trust you.
How do you go from being a substitute at Barça to winning a World Cup?
With great temperance, being very calm and waiting for your moment, your opportunity, and when it comes, take advantage of it. I think that's what I did, took the opportunity, and luckily it worked out.
Sandra Paños was one of her idols when she was little and now she disputes ownership...
It's not easy because everyone wants to play. We know that we are going to compete every day to play, but we are also teammates. We are clear that it is not our decision to play or not, that it comes from above. We get along well, we compete to the death and I think that makes us better for each other.
They took him to the national team ahead of Paños and he won the place over Misa. Has it been difficult to manage?
It has been strange, but I am a very calm person and it is not an emotional imbalance for me to go through a situation like this, but rather I take it as an opportunity. I'm calm because in the end it's what I'm good at and what I know how to do. I trust myself a lot and I go out on the field to play.
Do you think this temperance is your strong point?
Could be. Especially in tense moments, I think I am able to maintain that calm. I don't care what game it is, I'm going to play the same, I'm going to have the same heart rate and everything is the same.
That's why he earned the nickname "penalty guard," because of this coldness.
They are situations that I like. Obviously I prefer not to come to that, but if it happens, I feel super prepared to face it.
Their first absolute World Cup and they win it. What did he feel?
It's something unthinkable, I can't explain it in words. Everything happens in an instant, I think that none of us are aware of what we have achieved and how we have achieved it.
“We are the golden generation and we will make history again,” you said in 2018 after winning the U-17 World Cup. Five years later, absolute champion.
There were many young girls with whom I shared a dressing room at that U-17 World Cup. There was something different in the air, the youth teams pushed hard, we wanted to do something big and it was evident that we have grown very well together, that there is a very good youth team.
The successes of the youth teams have finally been transferred to the senior team.
Yes, but also because the clubs have bet more and it shows. In the end, you work at your club and when the national team calls you, you are already formed. Barça, for example, has 7-a-side football and all the women's categories, and this makes the team grow and everything goes much faster.
This season there is a moment when he sees that he needs to take another step to advance his career. When it occurs?
When I see that I am settling down. I say “that's it” as if I had accepted the situation of not playing and my representative told me no, that she had to be the first. And we made a plan.
What did that plan include?
A lot of work, double sessions many days, a nutritionist, a psychologist..., working every day focused on a single objective: getting on that list. And we got it.
What is the next step?
Be consistent in this. I think that in the end when you have a goal, it is not just worth three months, especially in football, you have to be constant. It is a daily job, every day 24 hours. Being consistent is the key word for success.
At what point in your life did you say you wanted to be a professional footballer?
Well, I guess I never thought about it. I am a person who lives a lot day to day and I don't think beyond that. I never said to myself “I want to be a footballer”, but rather I played, I had a good time, I saw that I was good at it...
How was the call from Barcelona?
I didn't believe it. He was at Collerense, he was going to sign for another team and Barça came and he told me “we love you.” And you can't say no to Barça. I am a culé and it was a dream. There were already Mallorcans in Barça; There were Virginia, Patri, Mariona and, damn, it was something I had to say yes or yes. I went on loan the first year, but because I believed I had to grow in another team to come back better.
And this season, what is your goal?
Grow both football-wise and personally, try to play as many minutes as possible and, hopefully, win all the titles that come.
