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"We will not leave the battles that lie ahead." Aitana Bonmatí wants to think about football, about beating Switzerland tonight in Córdoba and successfully close a tortuous start in the Nations League off the field. On the pitch they erased the doubts, outside there is still a way to go and it escapes them between the lines. Although Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes have been the voice of the dressing room in this crisis, the best player of the World Cup and next Ballon d'Or has had a weight as important as undetectable.

With his inseparable pillow, he planted himself in Oliva serious, with a goal that he has been pursuing since a year ago he was part of the 15 that challenged the RFEF and that yesterday verbalized: "There is a commitment for everything to go better, so that we leave a legacy and good conditions for all generations to come. We are an example for society, egalitarian, with equal rights." That is the objective for which most players decided to play these matches.

"The first few days were complicated, we couldn't sleep, stress, anxiety, I don't know how we could play so well with everything we were carrying. Now we are calmer, we have focused more on football, but we do not leave the battles that lie ahead," he warned. It is a warning because they know that, as their partner Mariona recalled, it is now when they have "a speaker and a responsibility: to leave football and women in a better place than we are when we arrived."

Third captain

How his messages are amplified is something that Bonmatí noticed at the UEFA gala, when with Erling Haaland as a silent witness, he spoke out against the "abuse of power" and next to Jenni Hermoso. Those words already made it clear that, from the background, her voice is heard so much in the dressing room that she was elected third captain, although, as Tomé said, it is for this call.

Everything calmed down when the ball rolled and was relaxed with the victory against the Swedes. So much so that the continuity of Montse Tomé is no longer so questioned. The president of the CSD, Victor Francos, called her after the triumph in Göteborg and gave her his support. A message that the coach thanked because "that impulse at a time like this is needed".

And that of the players? Tomé perceived it like this: "The first few days we noticed something strange that had to be solved. We have managed to talk, look at each other, be honest and take a step forward. They have always been 100% professional and, since the victory, the days have been quieter."

'It's none of our business'

Slight nuances put Aitana, who was not so forceful about his support for the coach. "I couldn't say anything else. I follow what Alexia and Irene said: it is none of our business. At first it was complicated, because of how the call was given, but now things are calmer between us, with the coaching staff and with the whole delegation. We want to focus only on football."

While the internationals try to successfully close this first window of the Nations League and keep alive the hope of fighting to be in the Paris Games, in the National Court the process opened against Luis Rubiales for the alleged abuse of Jenni Hermoso continues. Yesterday the first witnesses testified, the player's brother, a friend and two experts summoned by the defense of the former president. The environment of the player clarified before the judge that they received pressure from employees of the RFEF. For their part, the experts cited by Rubiales' defense ratified that the kiss to the player was consensual.

Next Thursday will declare employees of the RFEF, including the sporting director, Albert Luque. On Monday, October 2, it will be the turn of Jenni's companions: Alexia Putellas, Irene Paredes and Misa Rodríguez will tell what happened and will be able to testify by videoconference.

  • Women's Football
  • Spain Women's National Team
  • Montse Tomé
  • Jenni Hermoso
  • Erling Haaland