In no circumstance, except for war, do we see patriotic sentiment more exalted than during a World Cup. In Spain, where the most recent war was the Civil War, the matter is complicated. As was confirmed again in the general elections in July, there are two Spains.
Which of the two is Spain the world women's soccer champion? Is it what the academic Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca calls "the plurinational or "the mononational?" Will it be the one that defends the rights of autonomies, immigrants, women and homosexuals, or the one that sighs for an old-fashioned Spain, purged of the social and political currents of the 21st century?
It is assumed that all of Spain, except for the independence minority, celebrated the victory against the Perfidious Albion. But it is worth wondering if those who claim to fight for "the real Spain" have done so with the same passion, those who in recent years have seized the Spanish flag as an exclusive emblem of the ideas they represent.
It is worth asking for the simple reason that the women who made up the squad of the champion team were not exactly a mirror of “the real Spain”. They would be, rather, the image of what some call “Frankenstein Spain”. Among them there are several proud lesbians, gays who do not hesitate to display photos with their partners on social networks. There are also several Catalans, for example, the one who was voted the best player in the World Cup, Aitana Bonmatí. And to complete the mosaic we have Salma Paralluelo, chosen as the best young player of the tournament, whose mother is of African origin.
We can assume that all of them – regardless of their sexual, regional or racial orientations – are more or less feminists, since they have been fighting in a field dominated by men for a century and a half, and that they would not be in favor of abolishing, like many of the faithful of the "true Spain" they propose, the Ministry of Equality.
What we do not have to assume, because it is a fact, is that the Spanish women's team embodies a pluri-Spain that has nothing to do with the one that the caste of nostalgia wishes to restore. The two Spains are still there, but the wave of modernity that Bonmatí, Paralluelo and company represent will contribute to ending the sandcastle of extreme Spanish nationalism and will accelerate the numerical trend in favor of one over the other. For those who don't know, or don't want to know, these women world champions are the Spain of the real world, today and the future.
The blindness of many is expressed in their inability to see beyond borders. They do not understand the value of the Spanish victory for the Spain brand. Reviewing newspapers such as The New York Times, The Guardian and The Times of London, I see the admiration aroused not only by the quality of the game played by the women in the red jerseys, another leap forward for women's football in the world, but also by their salt shaker. , expressed among other things in the spontaneity with which they all embraced Queen Letizia. London newspapers, in particular, noted the difference with the stiff English monarchy, none of whose representatives bothered to travel to the final in Australia to support their Leonese.
What did not go down so well abroad, and unfortunately generated many headlines in the international press, was the over-enthusiasm of the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales. He was happy, man, so much so that American actress Mae West's famous question to an admirer comes to mind: "Do you have a gun in your pocket or are you glad to see me?" I am referring, of course, to the kiss that she gave the player Jenni Hermoso on the mouth, interpreted by many in Spain and abroad as a kind of sexual abuse or macho audacity. Rubiales' self-defense on the radio only added fuel to the fire. The reviews were “bullshit,” he said; those who criticized him were “dumb ass”, “idiots” and “really stupid”. It would be interesting to know which of the two Spains Rubiales belongs to. He gives the impression of being confused. But there is little doubt, and half the world saw it, is that he has more class than an orangutan.
