When there are ten days left until one year of Jorge Vilda's most critical moment as Spain's women's coach, when a letter was made public in which fifteen of his players (among them the captains) asked for a change in the way of managing the group (later they denied that they were asking for the coach's termination), Vilda experienced his most important moment of glory: on the night of Sydney, his pupils won the World Cup.
Measured in the celebration of the goal by the Sevilla side (Olga Carmona, elected MVP of the match) the coach was visibly moved on the grass in front of the television cameras: "We made a lot of people happy. We showed how we can play. I'm very proud and now it's time to celebrate."
Minutes earlier he had harangued his players, many of them crying: "You have made her very fat. Today you have 75,000 people here standing for you. And tomorrow, an entire country will take to the streets", he told them.
As the referee signaled the end of the match, Vilda's first thoughts were for her family: “So it's over, I turned around and saw my wife and daughter. My youngest son could not come. he is at home I remembered the people who love me, my parents. We are a small family and I am very happy for everyone. I imagine how Spain can be. Now it's time to celebrate. We are starting to celebrate here and I don't know when it will end."
42-year-old Madrilenian Jorge Vilda is the son of Ángel Vilda, who was Johan Cruyff's physical trainer at FC Barcelona. He has been the women's coach since 2015, replacing Ignacio Quereda, who resigned amid all kinds of accusations after being on the bench for no less than 27 years.
Jorge Vilda formed a tandem with his father at the Ciudad del Futbol de Las Rozas when in 2010 he was appointed coach of the under 17 team, while his father was in charge of the under 19 team. With this team he won two European Cups, two European sub-championships, a world bronze, a European bronze and a world sub-championship.
Three years later, he replaced his father on the bench of the U19 national team.
If Vilda has a lot to thank anyone for, it is Luis Rubiales, president of the Federation since 2018. The Granadan kept the coach in charge amid the storm. Vilda has always recognized it. This is how he expressed himself: "I would like to acknowledge the support of our president, Luis Rubiales, from day one. Without that we wouldn't be here. All this would not have happened. We have a president who reacted bravely and trusted me and my technical team, and we are very happy with the whole process,” he said.
Luis Rubiales also showed his satisfaction in front of the television cameras: "I am very happy and very proud of the team. They are twenty-three exceptional women, and from Jorge and the coaching staff, from all of Spanish football. Today is an unforgettable day."
And the president continued: "It is often said that we will realize it, but I am perfectly aware of all this now. We worked very hard, even though there were people who didn't want to let us work. I think we have to learn in Spain to value positive things. To let people do their work. This small percentage of people who were constantly frustrated and resentful must learn to let people work. You can't talk about anyone with ignorance. From here, I go to the other 99.99%. This goes for Spain: we have the best country in the world and I am very proud to see all the squares in Spain full", he said.
