In the center and accompanied by his entire coaching staff, Jorge Vilda descended the access ramp to the press room of the Las Rozas Football City.
The graphic reporters focused on him anxiously and the coach of the absolute Spanish women's football team conveyed the gait of a convinced and very self-confident coach.
The man lives the worst situation that a technician can face.
A majority group of players has questioned his methods and this has transpired.
The bags under the eyelids, the serious rictus, the half smiles and the intertwined hands described a anguished and disappointed coach who felt betrayed by his soccer players.
Vilda confirmed that he is willing to continue and said so.
The three captains, Irene Paredes, Jennifer Hermoso,
“It is not being easy at all for anyone”, Paredes, the first captain, launched herself, “we players have never asked for Jorge [Vilda] to be dismissed.
The captains, representing the group, have transmitted the feeling.
There have been many leaks, many of them false.
That's why we go out to show our faces.
We know that they are going to try to change the situation.
The goal is to improve,” said Irene Paredes with a serious tone and a fleeting look.
Her statement was at least surprising because the federation never denied the information and because two days before the messages that were issued from Las Rozas in the face of the revolt was that the players were not going to choose the coach.
More information
Jorge Vilda: "There will be women training in men's football sooner than we expect"
Before submitting to the questions of the press, Vilda showed the discomfort that overwhelms her and saddens her.
"I think that the codes of football have been transferred, the locker room thing stays and is resolved in the locker room.
My door is always open to talk and improve and I believe that this can be done”, she lamented, before emphasizing that she has the support of the federative president and that “I feel strong”.
Having said this, Vilda defended her work and her entire coaching staff.
"I have more strength than ever to continue creating a competitive team, to continue building, we have a very broad structure and a team that is at the forefront," she stressed.
Her speech denoted her discomfort because it has come to light that the players question the validity of her methodology and her tactical approaches after being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the last European Championship against England (2-1).
"Nobody in the world plays like this team," she defended.
Vilda did not explain how she intends to redirect the complex situation, although she sees herself capable of it.
“There is no climate of normality, this affects, but not as much as it is being sold.
No player has told me 'I don't want to be here'.
I have to be guided by what I see in the field,
I see players giving it their all”.
However, with qualification for the World Cup already in her pocket, Vilda did send a warning message: “We are very attentive to the players who want to be here, who wear the shirt and defend this shield.
We are very attentive to that.
I don't enter, the functions of the captains are very clear, we are going to look for one hundred percent involved players”.
Admitting the disagreements and his unease over their leaks, Vilda also acknowledged that during the European Championship something was broken between him and the group.
“The atmosphere has always been good, it is striking how good it was in the first days of concentration, in June, when we were 28. When the competition matches came, something could change.
In the past it has been football paradise.
And I think that in the present and in the future it will be again.
There has always been an open dialogue with the players, until the European Championship", explained the coach.
At that time, the mutinous footballers felt that the football they are capable of displaying is above the qualities of their coach.
He also had to listen in the press room that he is not usually present in the huddles that take place in games and that it is the captains who speak.
He was even questioned if he is compatible to be the technical director of women's football and also the coach.
"This also happens in other places," Vilda clarified.
After their intervention, the three captains spoke, who also put the turning point of their discomfort in the European Championship and the feeling that the raw material that Vilda has gives for more.
"It's a general malaise.
We have a group that can perfectly achieve great things.
That is why it was decided to convey a message from the group, because we believe that we can win something big”, explained Irene Paredes, who claimed to represent the entire group when they presented the complaints to the coach “It is true that I come out as the leader, but someone has to speak and I am the first captain.
I was the first to transmit it to the technician, but not the only one.
Nobody likes to be like this.
What we transmit is that there are certain internal aspects that must be changed”, assured Paredes, who sent a final message: The group wants to improve as a team,
but we are aware that we play football, nothing more.
We don't decide anything.
They have told us that the situation is going to change.”
At that point, the rebels have achieved part of their claims, but they have also verified that their coach has all the federal support.
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on
and
, or sign up here to receive
our weekly newsletter
.