When a coach sucks, everyone loses | defectors

At this point in the World Cup When there are only four teams left Chances of your favorite team being eliminated Perhaps you were disappointed that the three teams that made it to the semi-finals belonged to Europe. And none of the teams that went to the tournament were not particularly appreciated like Colombia and Japan. rest of the field Team Australia has inspired the country with a confluence of great form and even better feeling. But there is no guarantee that they will qualify for the final. and there are other semi-finals to watch before the Australian match So the question remains for tomorrow morning’s game between Sweden and Spain: who should you pick who doesn’t want to lose less than the other?

in this pairing like many people in women’s soccer The head coach actively inserts himself into the conversation. Jorge Vilda runs the team from Spain. And as we wrote about before the tournament, he sucks. In fact, he’s so bad that many of the best players in the world boycott them. very own national team to try to get him fired (It didn’t work) How can we support a team of guys who hate their players and keep doing his job because his confederation can’t give their female players anything?

Unfortunately, that often happens in women’s football. The answer is a lot more complicated than I’d like it to be. After Spain defeated the Netherlands on August 10, photos of Spanish players were sobbing.

Irene Paredes is one of the captains of the Spanish team. And she was one of the leaders of a group of 15 protesting against Wilda. Her emotional release was similar to that of Jennifer Hermoso and Alexia PutellasIt suggests that these players have had a remarkably difficult year. which is a year that is still troubling for them In the mixed zone after the game, Paredes was asked how she felt, and she replied, “That question made me cry.” It seemed to me that even winning under a toxic coach felt unbearable.

This is the crux of the problem. I shouldn’t be holding their shitty coach with them. None of the players asked him to be the coach. And of course they didn’t hire him. But football is a sport. A player can’t win the World Cup without Wilda winning too. He will stand on the same field with them. and if they win He would lift the same trophy as them and drink the same glass of champagne.

Because this is women’s football. It’s not the only incident of a bad coach. getting too many chances France probably already got rid of them. But there’s more. Bruce Mwape has been accused of sexual coercion by several Zambian players. But continued to coach their team, Vera Pauw, who was accused by several players of inappropriate remarks and behavior. Ireland coach; Her loss was the only obstacle to getting out of the group stage. Even USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovsky, who was generally considered untalented but well-meaning, It also threatened Alex Morgan’s place on the team as she took time off for mental health after the incredibly isolated 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

There are also youth leagues and coaches around the world that harass and abusing players like Diego Guacci in Argentina and many others in the NWSL, and you don’t need to be a coach to terrorize soccer player Yves Jean-Bart. President of the Haiti Federation Removed from office due to violence but after He was banned for life by FIFA. and swears that he will return to a powerful position

In the latest episode of RE—Cap Show, New Zealand captain Ali Riley recalled his agonizing experience under Andreas Heraf, who coached the Ferns in 2017 and 2018. already “I was not allowed to speak to some officials of the national team and I was threatened with stripped of my captaincy and expelled from the team for things I hadn’t done and had nothing to do with,” she said she and the players. Another was penalized for showing the other players what would happen if they didn’t “line up” at some point. Riley is so defeated that she believes she is the problem and decides to retire from the national team. “I can’t eat. I couldn’t sleep,” she recalls. “I was green and lost.” Luckily, the New Zealand Federation did a proper investigation when a player complained about Heraf and eventually fired him.

More and more players are speaking publicly about their harrowing injuries under an abusive coach. And hopefully this is the starting point where these federations and FIFA need to completely change the way they hire and fire personnel. Many of the examples in this blog point to as much systemic problems as they are. with that being a personal matter When confederations and leagues value money and power more than female players Persecution is an inevitable consequence.

So, as we proceed to the match between Spain and Sweden. I’ll cheer for everyone to have a good time except Jorge Vilda and Real Federación Española de Fútbol for the Swedes? Their coach is a silly goose by and large, and I thank him for making this the most newsworthy press conference he has ever made: