SYDNEY, Australia – The World Cup has a new home with Spain hoisting the trophy for the first time following a 1-0 win over England in front of 75,784 at Stadium Australia.
While all the attention should have been on Spain’s players and their achievement of winning a World Cup, that wasn’t the case.
It was on Jorge Vilda.
. As the Gypsy Kings song Bamboleo played throughout the stadium there were two separate celebrations taking place on the pitch after the final whistle.
Spain’s players fell to the ground and celebrated with each other.
The 42-year-old Vilda celebrated with his coaching and support staff before they all went over and joined the players on the pitch who had begun celebrating in Spain’s half.
As my excellent colleague @jbraidwo points out, a celebration to sum it up. Coaching staff one side, players another pic.twitter.com/ATvNVn1Iyv
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) August 20, 2023
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) August 20, 2023
There were some hugs and high fives between Vilda and some of Spain’s players, but it just didn’t look like a harmonious relationship between Vilda, his staff, and the players.
The noise that Vilda had tried so hard to deflect and swat away during the lead up to the World Cup and throughout the tournament only continued to grow as Spain progressed.
There was nothing he could do when he went up on stage to receive his gold medal.
You could hear the booing from the Spanish supporters as Vilda was shown on the big screen with his medal around his neck.
Spanish coach Jorge Vilda's name is announced in the stadium, to widespread boos. The name of every player was cheered.
— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) August 20, 2023
— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) August 20, 2023
What should have been a proud moment for a World Cup winning coach was met with displeasure from fans who believe that Spain won in-spite of Vilda and not because of him.
There’s no doubt that the relationship between the players, Vilda, and the Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol (RFEF) is fractured. Winning a World Cup could be healing for both sides if certain concerns are addressed.
“My mind is not on this issue right now,” Bonmati said when she was asked. “I’m focused on enjoying the trophy and that’s all.”
The Spanish players are clearly fed up with having to answer questions about Vilda and the RFEF. The fact that they’ve been put in this position by the RFEF speaks volumes of how they’ve been treated.
Of the 15 players that signed the letter to the RFEF asking for changes to be made, only three of those players are on Spain’s winning World Cup team.
Sandra Panos, Mapi Leon, and Patricia Guijarro were not selected for the World Cup.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not talking about this issue in this tournament,” Bonmati said when asked about the absence of players at the World Cup. “I want to focus on this tournament. It’s not fair that we’re talking about this every moment.”
The future of La Roja and Vilda remains up in the air.
Vilda is a World Cup winning coach and no matter how he has treated his players or what outside opinions of him are, you can’t take that away from him.
He will be forever linked with La Roja and he has accomplished something Sarina Wiegman is still chasing after two World Cup final losses.
The 2024 Paris Olympics are less than a year away and Vilda could potentially stay on to coach Spain if they qualify.
Spain’s players have not publicly voiced any issues with Vilda during the World Cup. If anything, they took issue with the fact that they were being asked about him so often.
Teresa Abelleira was asked if Vilda should resign.
“I am not going to answer those things,” Abelleira said post game. “I am very happy and it seems a bit ugly that you are asking that on such a happy day for Spain.”
A monumental night for Spain has been overshadowed by an inept federation that put politics over player concerns.
Winning a World Cup hasn’t silenced Vilda’s critics; they’ve just grown louder.
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