Aitana Bonmatí reveals the true objective of the women’s team’s claims

2023-09-25 21:08:47

Spain faces Switzerland in the second match of the Nations League with a calmer atmosphere within the group. The coach, Montse Tomé, appears more relaxed than her in her first appearances and everything is on the way to normality after the first complaints from the players attended to by the Federation. “The first days were difficult,” Aitana Bonmatí acknowledged during her appearance before the media. A phrase that she repeated several times in the press room of the Nuevo Arcángel stadium where the match will be played on Tuesday (9:00 p.m., La 2). «We have not been able to sleep enough, rest, [hemos tenido] a lot of stress, anxiety and I don’t know how we coped so well with the game against Sweden, which was a great game,” he says. “As the days go by, things are calmer, we are focused on football, but obviously we are not leaving all the battles ahead of us,” adds the best player from the last World Cup.

Aitana later explained what they expect to happen starting Wednesday, when the players return to their lives outside the national team. «We would like us to return a little to normal. There are many things to improve that have been discussed by both parties, we have committed to making all this go better so that we leave a good legacy and good conditions for all generations to come. And he explained what the objectives of these battles are, something that transcends football: “We are an example at a sporting and social level for what we want as a society, an egalitarian society, a better society that conceives men and women equally, with the “same rights and treats us the same.”

A speech reinforced by the words of his colleague Mariona Caldentey. “We are here to play football, but we have a responsibility, which is to leave football and women in a better place than we found them and we are in that fight,” she says.

Regarding the tension accumulated during this concentration, Mariona recognizes that the worst happened in the first days. «Stress is a little personal to each person. What helps us to distract ourselves, to be better in our heads, is being able to train. The worst moments were at the beginning because we couldn’t even go out into the countryside to relax or do what we like. We support each other, the group is strong and we feel comfortable with each other and that makes coexistence easier,” she says.

Mariona and Aitana are two of the four captains chosen by their teammates for this concentration, but Mariona recognizes the work that the two starters, Irene Paredes and Alexia Putellas, have done in those strange first days. «Our captaincy has emerged punctually and spontaneously. We are here to help Irene and Alexia and the team. But they have experienced more wear and tear in recent days. We finished meetings all together and they stayed, and then they had to explain everything to us. They are the ones who have suffered the most, the ones who have had the most stress. What the two of them have done these days is something to praise and thank,” she acknowledges.

The change that has been experienced in the concentration is also explained by the coach, Montse Tomé. «During the first days of the concentration we noticed a feeling of something strange that had to be solved. But we have managed to talk, look each other in the eyes, be sincere and take a step forward. I have said and will say that we have a type of players who are 100% professional. And after the victory against Sweden I have seen them with joy, I have seen them enjoying the game a lot. What these players know how to do best is play soccer. They have made us enjoy it, although we have things to improve. These days have been calmer, they are eager and we are prepared to face the game,” she assumes.