The RFEF wants Vilda’s replacement to be a woman
Jorge Vilda’s journey as head of the senior Spanish women’s team has come to an end after eight years in office in which he has directed 108 official matches with a record of 75 wins, 16 draws and 17 losses, in addition to 310 goals scored. favor and 58 against. Winning the 2023 World Cup has been his greatest achievement and dressing room management, especially in the last year, has been his greatest achievement.
The speed with which the football calendar is advancing, which will lead Spain to debut in the Nations League on September 22 in Göteborg against Sweden – the qualifying tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games – means that the entity that directs Spanish football has had to move the chip with some haste. Although there are many names that have been considered and put on the table, the priority for the RFEF is that Vilda’s replacement is a woman. It would be the first time that a woman occupied the bench of the senior team, which to date has only had men in charge: Teodoro Nieto (1981-1988), Ignacio Quereda (1988-2015) and Jorge Vilda (2015- 2023).
Montse Tomé, first optionGiven the unknown of how the future of the RFEF could be resolved -Pedro Rocha is provisional president, Luis Rubiales is disqualified by FIFA until November 24, there should be elections in 2024…-, the idea is to create a working group to revoke the decision of the 23 world champions and 50 other soccer players not to return to the national team “until there are structural changes. ” Taking into account the slowness of the bureaucracy in terms of changes – if there are any -, the purpose of the entity is that the first turn of the screw is to the liking of the footballers, and they see in it a declaration of intentions.
The first option would be inside the house itself. Although the coaching staff of the women’s team left the RFEF on August 31 at the end of their contract – days before they had made their positions available to the entity after the famous Assembly and Luis Rubiales’ intention to continue at the helm -, the names of Montse Tomé and Sonia Bermúdez have been put on the table when considering the chosen one.
Montse has never coached a team, since since obtaining the UEFA A license in 2018 she has been part of the coaching staff of the senior team, being the second to Jorge Vilda, a position that she has combined at times with the Under’15 teams. Sub’17 or sub’23. Sonia was proclaimed European Under-19 champion this summer in the first international tournament that she directed, and her background is limited to one season leading the Real Madrid women’s cadet team and her work in the RFEF since 2022 in Under-19 categories. 15 and sub’19.
Outside of the federation environment, there are also several names that could fit as tenants of the national team bench. Natalia Arroyo, coach of Real Sociedad – has a contract until 2024 -; María Pry, coach and sports director of Betis – with a contract in force until 2025 -; or Toña Is, former Spanish U17 coach with whom she was world champion and right now without a team, are well-regarded coaches.
Coaches with a valid contractAlthough the priority is to have a new coach, it is not ruled out that a man will take over from Vilda. The most liked option in the RFEF is that of Pedro López, current Mexico coach and former Spanish Under-20 coach, with whom he was world champion. That of Aguilar de Campoo, who was in the entity from 2008 to 2022, left a good mark, and it is understood that he is very knowledgeable about the different generations that act today in the senior team.
In addition to the man from Palencia, the name of José Luis Sánchez Vera, Levante coach – with a contract until 2024 – and, according to Relevo, the one preferred by the players as the new tenant, has come to the fore. As MARCA has learned, the Madrid coach has not been tested by the RFEF and is focused on his performance with his club, with which the season will officially start this Wednesday with the Champions League preview. Lluís Cortés, former Barcelona coach and until last month Ukraine coach, is also an option, although he is also among the candidates to occupy the United States bench. For his part, Pedro Martínez Losa, Scotland coach, is another option that has always been on the federation’s agenda. Reconstruction of the lower categories?
Although the focus is on the senior team and the replacement of Jorge Vilda as the tenant of its bench, the RFEF is aware of the need to rearrange the organization chart of the women’s teams. The eleven professionals who made their positions available to the RFEF (Javier Lerga, Eugenio Gonzalo, Blanca Romero, Carlos Sánchez, Rubén Jiménez, Sonia Bermúdez, Javier Velázquez, Javier Egido, Ander Ruiz Mitxelena, Elena Fernández and Montse Tomé) are pending resolve their future, although they trust their continuity in the RFEF – now without Vilda at the helm – would be on track.