Fridolina Rolfö lives in the middle of the Spanish conflict, which despite the World Cup successes is still ongoing. Several of her teammates in Barcelona continue to boycott the national team, and are now sitting at home in Spain while some others are chasing gold with “La Roja” in Australia and New Zealand.
Ahead of Tuesday’s semi-final in Auckland, Rolfö has difficulty knowing how the Spanish team is affected by the apparent crack. Several Barcelona stars (such as Patri Guijarro, Mapi León and Sandra Paños) are outside the national team, while three others (Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey and Ona Batlle) have broken the boycott and are playing at the World Cup.
– I do not know. I haven’t talked much about the situation itself, how it has been there and how it is now, says Rolfö.
– But in terms of football, it has been seen that there has been a lot of rotation of players and captains and everything like that. A lot has happened on that front, I don’t know if it’s strategic or what.
Benched the big star
Yes, a lot has happened in the Spanish team just during the World Cup. Union captain Jorge Vilda is widely seen as the heart of the conflict, and throughout the championship he has continued to stir the pot. After the 0–4 loss against Japan – Spain’s biggest defeat in eleven years – he, for example, replaced goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez in favor of the completely untested national team debutant Cata Coll and benched several players, including big star Alexia Putellas.
TT: Are you surprised they’ve rotated so much?
— Yes, I would probably say that. It was really against Japan that there was a slight dip, but otherwise they have looked good and been strong. So in terms of that, it’s a bit strange, says Rolfö.
Of the 15 players who started a boycott last fall, only Bonmatí, Caldentey and Batlle have returned. And they have had leading roles on the way to Tuesday’s World Cup semi-final against Sweden.
“Everyone has suffered”
Bonmatí has scored three of the Spanish goals and played in two more, full-back Batlle has played every game from the start and Caldentey was one of the match-winners in the quarter-final against the Netherlands (2-1), when she scored 1-0 from the penalty spot.
There are certainly some who see the trio as black feet. But after the win against the Netherlands, Caldentey tried to explain his mixed feelings.
— Everyone has suffered from this for months, it has been a very difficult year. But if in the end we take World Cup gold, we can say it has been worth it,” the 27-year-old striker told March.
Then there are also some Barcelona players whose sympathies in the conflict are more unclear. Alexia Putellas was “lucky” to have a cruciate ligament injury when the conflict broke out just before an international match against Sweden in Córdoba almost a year ago. Veteran centre-back Irene Paredes was not as fortunate.
Paredes was not officially part of the player boycott, but is said to have chosen to stand over the national team gathering against Sweden in solidarity with those who went on strike. She was also singled out as the unofficial leader of the rebellion.
Everything is not resolved
She herself only claims that she, in the form of team captain, brought out the players’ dissatisfaction.
— It has bothered me, but it was logical that people thought so. But as the team captain, it was necessary to let the federation know about the dissatisfaction and I, as the first team captain, was the one who had to speak up, said Paredes in an interview with Marca before the World Cup.
The 32-year-old, who has made the third most caps for Spain of all time, was just like “Las 15” away from the national team for a few months. But when the WC squad was selected, her name was included.
— It has been a difficult year, but we have managed to turn it around. We have tried to change some things while others will take longer to resolve. But now things have calmed down, she told Marca.
That there can still be differences of opinion, even within the Spanish World Cup squad, is nothing strange, she said further.
— Everyone is very professional. We have the same goal, we all want the same thing and that’s what we’re aiming for. As with all jobs, you can’t be best friends with everyone. But you do your job.