‘It’s a shame that everyone who stops you on the street tells you about the kiss and doesn’t say ‘Congratulations on the World Cup'”: Catalina Coll, Spain goalkeeper

Catalina Call says she is “a very confident aunt”. An indispensable quality of a goalkeeper, which she has recently demonstrated in abundance. FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealandwhere the Spanish team won the championship.

But he not only confidently manifests himself on the field.

He also claims to be strongly supportive of his teammate. Jenny Beautyat the center of an unwanted scandal after a kiss he received during the championship celebrations from the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubialesnow suspended and under investigation.

Call, also world champion in the under-17 and under-19 categories, says she supports her colleague’s complaint to the end. 23 champions have said they will no longer play for the national team until Rubiales leaves his post.

The kiss sparked a wave of criticism and a deep and heated sporting, social and even political debate in Spain that was reflected in the international press and social media about consent, sexism and abuse of power.

Rubiales suspended from work and wages for FIFAand being asked to resign from various sources, including the Spanish government, denies kissing Hermoso without consent and sticks to his stance.

In an interview with BBC Mundo, the 22-year-old Call makes no secret of his disappointment at developments that he believes have dwarfed the success that all of Spain should be celebrating.

We spoke with her not only about the kiss, but also about the victory and how, after the defeat, she became the starting goalkeeper of the team that has since gone to the title.

I know that there is a big controversy in Spain right now, precisely because of the kiss of the President of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, with your partner, player Jenny Hermoso, which somehow overshadowed the celebration of his team as world champions. .

But first, congratulations. I would like to talk about this triumph. I want to know how you survived that historic World Cup final.

Very excited. We knew we would win [a Inglaterra]. During the game, we were sure that everything would go well. It’s true that the 13-minute discount lasted forever, but it ended like this. [como campeonas por 1-0] It was an emotion that I still couldn’t explain to you.

And how did you imagine that you would live the next weeks after winning the World Cup?

I celebrated here in Mallorca on my land, I had many parties, you go shopping and people know you, you walk down the street and people stop you to take pictures and that makes you happy in the end .

It’s all very new because you can see it was like hitting a table, we’re here and we’re aiming for more and it’s growing.

Let’s talk about this game in the final. For those of us who saw it from the side, it seemed that the team was always in control and hardly suffered. How was life in the field? How did you live it?

Yes, it’s true that we controlled the game very well at the beginning, but I will also tell you that there were moments when we suffered and said: “They are pressing us.”

But I think we had a very clear plan for the match, we knew what we needed to do, and I think that was demonstrated during the World Cup.

Which game of the entire World Cup did you like the most, and which was the most difficult?

I suffered the most from the match against the Netherlands. [en cuartos de final con victoria por 2-1]because I saw a very physically strong team. Then we went into extra time, and I noticed that we were tired, but we had to endure, no matter what it took. I think this is the game in which the whole team suffered the most.

You also have a special story: you started this World Cup not in the starting lineup. But everything changed after the defeat in the first stage from Japan. What was the moment when you found out that from now on you will be the starting goalkeeper?

Well, it’s true that we didn’t expect it. Throughout the World Cup we also said that we are 23 players and all 23 of us can play because we are ready for it. But it is true that in the end the position of the goalkeeper is more difficult because he is more lonely.

An hour and a half before the game, when the squad was set, I found out [de que era la portera titular]. And since I’m a very, very confident aunt after all, I handled it in the best possible way.

You are one of those who have a triple crown: sub17 champion, sub19 champion, and now the undisputed champion. How does this achievement feel at 22?

Well, I don’t know because everything happens so fast.

As a result, it seems that just yesterday I played at the World Championships under 17, and now I am in the absolute.

It seems to me that football flies by very quickly, you don’t have time to realize anything.

And I think that football players understand what we have achieved when they get injured or when they leave football.

I don’t think I’m aware of everything I’ve won in my career.

They also succeeded in destroying the two-world hegemony held by the United States. They win a key world championship with more media coverage, a higher level of teams, a more engaged audience. What did it mean to you? When you were a child and played football, did you imagine that things could become like this?

I think it means a lot to our country.

We’ve taken a very big step away from saying, “We’re here, we can do the same and put on the same show.”

I also have to thank New Zealand and Australia because every game has always had over 20,000 people in attendance and I think that was unthinkable a few years ago.

We see it growing and we are proud of what we do.

I did not expect all this when I was a child. When I was little, I didn’t even see women’s football because I didn’t even know it existed. Getting here is a dream for me and for all of us who open the doors to the girls who come, so that it is easier for them and they do not have to fight injustice.

Now let’s talk about another topic. Tell us how you got through this crisis that happened after Rubiales kissed your partner Jenny Hermoso.

I’m sorry that 23 football players are not the main characters. What I am disappointed with is that now everyone who stops you on the street tells you about it, and does not say: “Congratulations on the World Cup.”

Or he tells you, but then emphasizes it.

I think we’re sad about all this, but hey, I believe and believe that everything will be fixed and everything will be successful.

What feeling is prevailing in you now?

Obviously, I’m happy with what we’ve achieved, but there’s a part of me that’s sad about what’s going on. I’m sorry that we are not the main characters and that they always have to be the same main characters.

You have decided not to return to the Spanish national team. Tell me a little about this process.

We were all in contact with each other. I think we all had the same thought: what happened cannot continue.

In the end, it happened to a colleague whom we love very much, and we decided that we would go with her to her death, no matter what she decided.

And we did it: we went with her to her death. And that was our decision, and that decision until the end.

And what needs to happen in order for you to be able to play again?

Well, it’s all good. I think this is what everyone is waiting for, everything that was intended was noticed, and we just want everything to end well, that our rights are respected and that this does not happen again.

You had the opportunity to speak with your partner Jenny Hermoso. How is she?

I think you have a mobile [celular] overflowing with all the messages that reached him.

All the companions gave her our support, and we go with her to death in everything, we support her.

He’s having a hard time, and I’m putting myself in his shoes, and it’s obvious that I wouldn’t want to be there. But as I told you, with her to death, no matter what she does.

Were you surprised by the behavior of Rubiales?

In the end, I’m not exactly surprised. Obviously I didn’t like it. I think everyone ends up talking about what we don’t like to talk about.

I want to talk to you about how I performed at the World Championships, not about that.

After the incident, they were supported by many people and institutions. Is there any support they lack?

No, I think that those who want to support us should support us, and those who do not want to, well, do not support us. In the end, we know what is, our truth and that’s it. As I told you, whoever wants to get in should get in, and whoever doesn’t, well, don’t advance.

How would you like this crisis to end?

I think that everything will end well, this is what all the players, the whole world want.

That, after all, we are football players and we want to play football and be respected and respected by others. That’s all. Play football which is what we love, enjoy it and let it end well so we can come back and keep winning titles.

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