Jorge Vilda presented his last list yesterday before the World Cup next summer in Australia and New Zealand with the return of Irene Paredes as the main novelty. The central Blaugrana had been out of the team since in the summer it acted as spokesperson for the internationals in their demands to achieve a more professional structure. Although she did not send the letter sent by 15 of her teammates temporarily resigning from the national team until these improvements were achieved, she ended up being singled out as one of the instigators and suffered great personal wear and tear that has kept her away from the national team for more than half a year. What has she changed to be summoned now? Vilda limited herself to saying that Paredes "is summonable", "a player who is committed to the team" and avoided giving further explanations: "We have summoned her now because we thought it was the right time. I am not going to enter into private conversations, ”she sentenced.
The coach systematically avoided talking about the conflict he has with the 15: "I'm not going to talk about those who once excluded themselves." Although he did have words for Alexia Putellas, in the final stretch of her recovery: “We are waiting for her. Once she recovers, we'll talk. Going into the realm of what ifs... doesn't make sense”.
The return of Irene Paredes, following in the footsteps of Jenni Hermoso -who was not part of the internationals who sent a letter to the Federation either, but did share their demands-, could open the door for the return of other footballers, like the twice Golden Ball.
With four months to go before the World Cup, the players are divided, not only between the 15 and those who attend the call of the national team – now with a hard core made up of Real Madrid footballers – but also among those who gave up being called up. Some have publicly shown their desire to bring positions closer to the Federation, such as the blaugrana Aitana Bonmatí in a recent interview with the newspaper Ara: "I would like both parties to get closer and we could talk to see how we can fix things for the good of the Women's Football".
Others, on the other hand, are inflexible to return if the improvements they ask for are not produced. "It's going to piss me off, but there are some things that need to be changed and if they don't change, it won't go away," said her teammate at Barça Mapi León in an interview with Mundo Deportivo. Improvements that are being negotiated with the mediation of the Futpro union, which acknowledges to La Vanguardia that the sensations are better than months ago and they are optimistic about finding a way out. And it is that the absence of '15' is nothing more than the last consequence, the last resort of some soccer players who want to see the professionalization that they live in their clubs reflected in the selection.
There are not many soccer players who have taken the step of speaking publicly about the conflict and most are part of the internationals who decided to resign from the national team. Many are afraid and prefer to remain silent, others, like the Real Madrid soccer players, live in a bubble isolated by the strict communication policy that prevails in the club. The Madrid entity does not give interviews with its players, a measure that it has applied since its creation as a women's team. The only opportunity to talk to their footballers was when they were concentrated with the Spanish team, but since the conflict broke out, the Federation has also shielded itself and does not offer interviews with the internationals, so it is difficult to know first-hand how they are living all this process.
This is the big question that all the Spanish fans are asking, eager to see the best competing in the greatest football event such as the World Cup. The answer will depend, on the one hand, on the will of each one of the players and on whether they consider that the improvements they demanded have been implemented. In this case, the Federation has always been very clear with the 15 internationals that sent the letter: any player who wants to return must communicate in writing that she is now willing to be called up again. "They will only return if they ask for forgiveness," the federal entity published in a statement in September. Although returning is not a real option for some of them, on a kind of 'red list', their return to Spain would be banned today.
We have repeatedly heard soccer players talk about ambition and the desire to have a structure that helps them achieve the sporting objectives that they believe can be achieved with the best generation of soccer players this country has ever had. In Jorge Vilda's seven years at the helm of the national team, Spain has never managed to win a tie, neither in World Cups nor in Eurocups, something that surprises inside and outside our borders.
From this desire arose the meeting at the end of August in which the captains of the team, including Irene Paredes, conveyed to Jorge Vilda the need for changes. Neither the coach, nor President Luis Rubiales, nor anyone in the Federation structure responded to this request. During that same concentration at the end of summer, the coach met individually with all the internationals, causing division in a dressing room that until then had gone to one. This change of position was taken as a betrayal by the internationals that exposed themselves, causing a total rupture that continues today, seven months later. The clock is ticking and the next call announced by Jorge Vilda will be in the summer, when he presents the shortlist for a World Cup in which it is not known how many stars will be missing.
