Luis Rubiales (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1977) has been accompanying the Spanish team in New Zealand and now in Australia since their World Cup debut against Costa Rica. He arrived a few days late due to flight delays and before he left he went to visit a good friend with health issues. “I came here and bonded quickly, bonding very well with the players,” he admits.
The president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation attends SPORT and Prensa Ibérica at the Sydney hotel, where ‘Red’ is intensified, two days after playing the World Cup final, the most important game in its history, in a year when it had its biggest crisis.
Spain in the World Cup final. How does the president of the federation feel?
So much emotion, so much joy. Also, even though I trust this team a lot, I’m nervous and this uncertainty.
It landed on release day. Did you expect to come here?
I have always trusted them and told them so. I think Jorge and his ‘team’ did a fantastic job, the actors are very high quality and have great confidence in themselves. And I think in recent games there has been an increase in combat, competitiveness in the fight, this is something that perhaps did not characterize this team before.
They did a sensational job against Sweden on a tactical level as well, a team that poses a great danger from set-pieces and has been effectively neutralized. I think that all the issues that need to be given in order for us to qualify for the final take place at the best moment, both psychologically and physically.
You were at the 2019 World Cup, what changes did you see at the sporting level?
There are problems that are due not just to the changes you make, but to the coming together of two or three generations of very good players, and here they are.
But other than that, a great effort was made to listen to Jorge’s ‘staff’, everything they asked of us, the actors. I think we adapted, as in this family reconciliation agreement, we took the lead.
A few players emphasize their closeness. How is your participation in this concentration?
By keeping the distances, I still feel like a football player and he is moving in that direction. He jokes with them, but also talks about the game, the families, how they are. First of all, I ask them how we can improve, and there were suggestions we took into account. I also notice them very closely, a very nice bond has been established. I was connected quickly.
said Federation you are making a great effort What exactly does this effort consist of?
When I arrived five years ago, less than three million euros was devoted to women’s football. We are now 27 years old. The coaching staff was not professional, they had contracts for days. We went from two physiotherapists to four, here we have a doctor and a nutritionist. Hotels and training camps were not the same. We have implemented the family reconciliation plan, which is one of the things that the players value most. We prepared a savings plan for them, created an equality observatory…
We also had trouble concentrating because the Palmerston pitch couldn’t hold up and we decided to talk to FIFA and it was an investment, an additional cost we had to bear because otherwise that muddy pitch would increase the risk of injury. I remember the last meeting we had when I asked them what else we could do and they told me there was nothing else.
Now, I think that’s a very small percentage. That helps, yes, but the high percentage is their quality and professionalism and they are very close to being world champions on their own merit.
Did you mention the competitions organized by the Federation beyond the elections?
It has improved a lot before a few teams joined and many more are joining now. I think we just need to see how seriously we take everything that happened after the misunderstanding about the dedication to the stadiums, the awarding of the medals. We put on a tremendous show with top artists. And they appreciate all that and give it back to the match.
How do you explain Spain’s reaching the final with all these events?
Because we are the ones who talk the least about what could happen. There are football players who are always 100% attached to this jersey, there are also those who decide to talk to us after thinking, we listened to them. I think we managed well, we tried to respect and understand, listen to criticism in order to improve ourselves. And as a result, we went further and further in this concentration every day.
Here we have some top quality football players who always want to be 100 percent included in the national team or talk to us after thinking about it, listen to it and are 100 percent. one hundred engaged I think we managed well, we tried to respect and understand, listen to criticism in order to improve ourselves.
I think we managed well, we tried to respect and understand, listen to criticism in order to improve ourselves.
We have twenty-three top players who have a great relationship, respect the coaching staff, respect what their role is and the role of the coaching team, the president or the jerseys. Maybe some segments wanted to be sold did not come true. Now we have the best Spanish team in history and we are very close to winning a World Cup. And I’m convinced we can do it.
In a conflict, each side does things right and wrong at the same time. Has a personal review been made? Will players seeking improvement still be heard?
Of course they do, but before I became president, the first to know that there was no women’s department, that they received forty euros for a diet, no bonuses, no image rights, are the players. Now they have all this and the compromise of the best Federation in the world because the second best Federation is British. They put 11.000 Euros and we put 15.000 Euros. And again we bet, more relatives will come for the finale.
They know that it can be improved, they push us to the end, they let us know, but they also know where we come from, and there is no team in the world that offers a better squad at the moment. It’s fair to admit that it’s a significant change as we believe in and are committed to women’s football.
You decide to renew before Eurocopa vilda. Do you think you might feel bad the moment it’s done?
No, because we have made a strategic plan for women’s football that covers all areas, including what we want. We saw that we could be World and European champions in all categories, including absolute, but we set ourselves some deadlines. That’s why it was so important for Jorge Vilda to take on the challenge of winning these championships in the lower categories, so he took over the sport management as well as coaching. We challenged ourselves to be an absolute World Cup semi-final or final between 2024 and 2026. We’re in 2023, we’ve arrived earlier than planned, and that’s a sign that things are on track. even better than we expected.
But will the Federation continue to rely on him as coach for the next few years?
He has one year left on his contract, but he doesn’t want to talk. Now he is living the best fight of his life. There are 23 players with the most beautiful fight. Girls who had almost no rights when they started playing because it looks like a boy’s sport are now tearing down this concrete ceiling and we have to thank them. They are a role model, a mirror to look at, so we will give them everything they want.
People no longer need to know about our strategic plan, but when they ask, I explain. Those were deadlines, and for that we relied on a person who was Jorge Vilda in the medium or long term. He makes up the whole ‘squad’, if we’ve won four of the last six European championships and three of the last four world championships, it’s clear that he’s right. We came second in the other. I think he did a great job in the youth ranks and has now reached a final. We have to admit it, Jorge has a lot to do with the successes of the downtrodden and the current ones. Let’s see if I will be the champion and milk will come out.
Vilda has a year out of contract, but Vilda doesn’t want to talk about it. She is now experiencing the best struggle of her life, she.
Now I’m asking about Alexia. He recently returned from a serious injury. What does it add to the group beyond the sport?
Too much. I think there are a lot of players and maybe some of you will be surprised by their contribution, because the outside world is more anonymous. But when it comes to Alexia, it’s not just what she adds to the group, when an opponent sees her on the pitch she says, ‘Oh my God, that’s Alexia’ and we know it. He’s an incredible player, he has incredible quality and talent, and what I love most about him is when he comes to score. Sometimes it can be frustrating knowing that you’ve arrived within minutes and have just recovered from the injury. It is good. He is helpful in every way, sincere in his words and it is our pride and great luck that he is Spanish like the other twenty-two people. There are players who have had a great World Cup.
One of them is Aitana Bonmatí. Do you see her as Alexia’s successor at the Ballon d’Or?
I just don’t want to get into these issues [ríe]. Aitana is an outstanding actress, Tere, Ona, Jenni, Cata… Misa was also very good at her plays. Look at Olga’s goal… Pff, what a great choice to take us to the final. You start looking for players and we have a great team. The centre-backs are great, Mariona is outstanding, Alba is in the front or right wing, when Eva Navarro is out of the game…
And then there are the girls who are nineteen or twenty years old, like María or what can I tell you about Salma. It’s breaking it. We pass through airports and everyone wants to see it. The secret to this team is that they know they can play. Except for Enith, who was a great goalkeeper and showed exemplary behavior, they all played, and as the head of Spanish football, I am very proud that they are playing for the Spanish team.
As a former player, did you talk about how you lived the days before such a match?
I just never played a World Cup final [ríe]. Not possible. I enjoyed it very much and felt a special feeling these days. It was difficult for me to sleep. It had never happened to me, I spoke to Esther this morning. We are very excited, excited and, I repeat, grateful. I’m sure that as a big football fan, it must have happened to you when we were in the final, when Olga scored a goal… I couldn’t contain myself in the box. The sound is deadly to me because I can’t stop the cheering. All I can tell you about them is to be incompetent.
Any word from the president if they win the World Cup?
They had everything they wanted us to come here and that was consistent. Then all economic issues and all else were closed, we turned, first of all, to the issue of family reconciliation, food, rest and training camps. And for them, the greatest reward is to come to Spain with a star on their chest and raise a toast they deserve more than anyone else.
If it does, will it be celebrated well?
If it’s to be celebrated, let’s go. I hope we can. We must keep our feet on the ground and be humble. But of course the whole of Spain is revolutionizing with them.