Rebellion Against ‘Cruella de Vilda’: The Dark Side of the Spanish World Cup Myth

There will be new world champions. Never before have England and Spain been in the final. But it’s not just a fairy tale: Spain coach Jorge Vilda is controversial. The boycott of 15 players continued last year.

Maria “Mabby” Leon Trains. A soccer ball, hand dumbbells, juggling with a tennis ball, and battling a teammate with a big exercise ball. The 28-year-old Spaniard clearly enjoys her job as a soccer player, which she shows off often on Instagram. Is everything good? Well, in all the photos, she’s wearing a FC Barcelona jersey, not a Spain national team jersey. Mabe did not attend the World Championships in Australia and New Zealand. She was and still is “rebellious”.

Mabe is one of the best Spanish footballers who is holding out his protest against national team coach Jorge Vilda. She’s one of those who didn’t play for England in a World Cup final because of that (Sunday, 12 p.m. / ZDF and on ntv.de live tape) Stand up, you don’t have a chance at the title. It has faded into the background in the Spanish press, the media has suppressed what happened before the World Cup. S writes only of Filda that he was “severely criticized from many quarters”.

Radio Marca allows Vilda Angel’s father to speak unrated: “For eleven months, my son has been criticized every day, from all sides.” In September 2022, 15 national players sent a letter of boycott to the Spanish Federation RFEF. Accordingly, the situation is unbearable, and players have seen their health and emotional states affected. The reason is coach Vilda – there was talk of disrespect, abuse and stubbornness. It was the Barcelona players who protested, the Real Madrid players did not join in. Vilda was born in Madrid. The protests did not go over well with the Spanish Football Federation. Above all, the president, Luis Rubiales, got behind the 41-year-old, the coach stayed, and most of the ‘rebels’ stayed away. Even today.

“It has to be a change.”

It is a travesty in itself that Filda took over after the 2015 World Cup, when there was a rebellion against the old coach Ignacio Quereda due to the elimination in the preliminary round. He held this position for 27 years. Vilda had previously coached the Under-19s and led them to the 2015 European Championship final, but he still worried his father had connections at the federation, which certainly didn’t hurt him. This has been overcome, but the current allegations remain. He is said to be a control freak and has even prevented players from locking their room doors. He exerts psychological pressure, does not attach importance to controlling stress, there is a lack of communication. The Champions League winner said of herself in May: “Maby Lyon has a lifestyle and certain values.

Only three, Una Patel, Mariona Caldente and the mastermind of the Spanish game, Aetana Bonmati, have returned since the revolution and appeared in the World Cup squad. They are all three important players in the currently very successful team. After the quarter-final victory, Patel was asked about the condition of the twelve missing players. She responded angrily, “It’s ridiculous to think of it now,” Patel said. “We are here to win the World Cup and we know what it takes. The players here want to make history and lift the trophy. That’s our focus.”

Now the picture of Filda and the Spanish national team at the World Cup is clear: whoever succeeds is right. Rubiales said of the coach: “Hate cannot be the driving force in life, it can be love. Felda deserves it, he’s a big guy, he’s a champion in the World Cup result.” The coach celebrates himself and his team after reaching the final: “It’s a historic day,” he said. His team played “with all their soul and charm”. “We are in the final, that’s what we wanted.”

Coherence with doubts

Is everything really forgotten what happened? Ahead of the semi-final victory over Sweden (2-1), Barcelona striker Jennifer Hermoso had publicly examined the differences. “I see the team motivated as never before and with self-confidence,” she said. “I don’t want to remember everything that happened in the past. I just want to enjoy this sport and inspire our country with this team.” Like two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Potellas, Hermoso wasn’t one of the “rebels”, but she did express her solidarity. Real Madrid’s Spanish captain Ivana Andres previously stated that the players “have a very good relationship with our coach”. Felda also said: “The team is united, everyone is fighting for the same goal.”

Pictures after entering the final allow a different interpretation, as everyone celebrated themselves at the start. Football players on the field, the coach with his team. The convenience community doesn’t seem quite united, even if it wants the public to believe it.

But Vilda used a clever phrase, because the team naturally fights “for the same goal”. Everyone who participates in the World Cup and gets the chance to win the title wants to win it. That’s a punch. It’s not about your sensitivities, it’s about success. Star player Potellas should have known. She’s a key figure in the team, the cruciate ligament she injured before last year’s European Championships traumatized Spain and robbed them of their self-confidence. This is one of the reasons why the team performed poorly, losing heavily to the German Confederation team in the group stage, and being eliminated in the quarter-finals by the eventual European champions from England. Now the attacker is back, but her knee doesn’t seem to last more than an hour. Felda, who was replaced by Selma Baralelo, knows that, too.

The 19-year-old is the U-17 World Champion and U-17 and U-20 European Champion. She scored the winning goal in the quarterfinals, and scored the lead in the semifinals. She is one of many younger players on the team, and semi-final winner Olga Carmona is only 23 years old. With Cata Coll, the 22-year-old has been in goal since the knockout round and is paying off the confidence placed in her. Misa Rodriguez, first-choice goalkeeper since Sandra Banus was part of the ‘Rebels’, was not so lucky in the 4-0 strike against Japan in the group stage. Vilda was celebrated for making the team without regard for the big names.

An association that supports families

The team started the World Cup with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica, until they beat DFB-Schreck Zambia 5-0, but then lost to Japan. And in the round of 16, Switzerland lost 5-1 to “La Furia Roja”, in the quarter-finals Spain beat the vice-world champion from the Netherlands 2-1, and in the semi-finals the same result was against Sweden. “What we’re seeing here is brutal. I’m so proud of the whole team. We still don’t realize what we’ve done. We’re waiting for everyone’s support in the final,” said Terry Apelera.

Players also get to support their families. The association gave them €15,000 each to bring their relatives to New Zealand. This is the kind of press the association wants to generate. But it is not so simple, many have forgiven neither the RFEF nor Filda. During the games, the hashtag #VildaOUT will be trending on social media. Many write that they hope that England will beat Spain in the final and become the world champion. One of them is journalist Moses Okonga. Vilda isn’t just his name, Okwonga writes “Cruella de Vilda,” a reference to the villain from “101 Dalmatians,” Cruella de Vil.

Jorge Vilda and Spain are one step away from crowning glory. Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson likes to praise her game – “I would like my team to play like Spain” – saying the success will not be brilliant.