England vs Spain: A tale of two coaches

Spain versus England, a date with a destiny. To casual football fans, it may sound like a blockbuster showdown, but the significance of this final will go far beyond what it may look like on paper. Both teams have made it to their maiden final; both teams are Europeans and both teams have world class footballers. However, at the same time, there have never been two teams that have come to this tournament in polar opposite circumstances. 

England's World Cup campaign started off under the watchful eyes of manager Sarina Wiegman back in 2021. Wiegman's portfolio is incredible. Having taken over the head coach role for her country, Netherlands in 2017, she led the team to a home European Championship title in that very year. England on the other hand, had become a team very similar to their male counterparts – starting off well but falling short in the semi-finals of major tournaments. And so, when the role in England opened up, there was no one better to call up than the woman who has experience in leading a home team to success. 

And Wiegman's impact was instant. Almost immediately she made drastic decisions, including handing the captaincy over to Leah Williamson, a player who played a very minimal role in major tournaments for England prior to the Euros. Steph Houghton, a player who led the Lionesses for eight years was injured at the time and eventually fell out of Wiegman's roster. While at the time the decision raised eyebrows, it eventually proved to be correct. England played some of the best football and they lifted the Euros in 2022, finally breaking the English football curse after fifty years. Since the day Wiegman took over, she only lost one match and drew just five. 

England went into the World Cup as favourites despite the fact that they were missing key starting players such as Williamson herself, Beth Mead, England's Player of the Year and midfielder Fran Kirby due to season ending injuries. The run leading to the tournament did place questions over England's ability to score and Wiegman's reluctance to rotate her starting line-up. At times unconvincing, sometimes prone to errors and once against the run of play, England made it to the finals. Wiegman became the first coach in football history to take two different nations to a World Cup final.

The thing about Wiegman is that every player in her team has so much faith in her ability as a coach that sometimes, they are able to simply trust her judgement and win because of that faith. People who have worked with her only speak highly of her, bar an occasional one or two players who became the victims ousted from her team. Players have emphasised her role in elevating their performances, her capacity to tactically manoeuvre difficult setbacks but most importantly her humbleness. There is a lot of purity in Wiegman and that plays a key role in making the Lionesses likeable even to many ardent anti-English fans. 

Now, on the other side of the coin is Spain's Jorge Vilda, whose reign over Spain started long before Wiegman even took over the Netherlands. Despite his eight years tenure with the senior team, there is very little success to show for.  In fact, there is none at all. Having taken over the role from Ignacio Quereda, question marks were raised about his credibility. The only teams he coached beforehand were Spain Women's U17 and U19 team, a team he took over from his father. 

For England, it will be the triumph of a woman who is loved by her peers, her players and any nation that is lucky to have her. For Spain, it may be a victory, that despite their Federation and everything that has unfolded in the past year, these players came out fighting for their colours. But, the presence of Jorge Vilda will then become permanent and we may never see some of the greatest players play in the biggest stages of the world. So, choose your fighter carefully. 

— Raiyan Binte Rafiq

At the time he took over, Spain Women's team was embroiled with allegations of harassment and abuse against their former coach. Prominent players stepped down or were expelled from the squad. For years, the Spanish players continued to raise concerns, even over Vilda's role. Players who played under him have openly spoken about the way he treats his players, sometimes setting rules that bordered on abuse and out of line. Until 2019, he placed a rule that players could not lock their hotel room doors until the manager came and checked everything was aligned with his standards. Damaris Egurrola spoke about the emotional abuse he throws at his players. According to several media outlets, players often left the training sessions emotionally exhausted or breaking down. 

In September last year, 15 players privately wrote to the Spanish Federation (RFEF) that they would forgo the chance to compete in International friendlies citing mental health concerns for themselves. The fifteen comprised some of the best players in the world - six players from Barcelona, two from Manchester United, City and Athletico Madrid. What was meant to be a private discussion, ended up in discourse when RFEF publicly issued a statement saying they would not be bullied into budging for the players. Vilda appeared stern and unshaken, firmly putting his foot down that he would not leave his positions and declaring that the players who question his position will be liable to sanctions. RFEF president, Luis Rubiales fully supported Vilda and highlighted that players who do not accept national call ups may be cut off from the team for two to five years. 

In every way, the manner in which the entire situation was handled, was shocking. If Vilda's performances spoke for themselves then perhaps the evidence would support him. But then you can't help but think of the last ten minutes of the summer of 2022 when Spain lost their control in the dying minutes and eventually succumbed to defeat at the hands of England. It was his tactical decisions at crucial times that led to the loss, a point many players have highlighted to the RFEF. His dressing room was divided, his players emotionally wrecked and poor in confidence. 

When Spain came into the World Cup, most people thought their lack of depth might prove to be critical. Somehow, in the midst of all the chaos, he convinced Aitana Bonmati, Mariona Caldantey and Ona Batlle to return to the squad. Alexia Putellas, the two-time Ballon d'Or winner also returned from a length injury spell. Mapi Leon, Patri Guijarro and Claudia Pina are still axed from the squad. All three players played an instrumental part in Barcelona's second Champions League title in May. Spain made their way through the first two hurdles till they faced Japan, who tactically outplayed them in every sense. The gaping holes in Spain's defence was amplified without Mapi Leon's presence and the match finished 5-0 to Japan. However, Spain found their foot and Salma Paralluelo's cameos in the latter stages of the knockout round matches kept Spain's hopes alive. They beat Switzerland, Netherlands and Sweden to reach the final of the World Cup. 

There is no denying that Spain deserves to be in the final. If you win matches and you make it to the final, then it's your match to play - that's how knockout football works. But there is also no denying that there are many red flags in the manner this has come about. The fear of Spain's success is that it would minimise the damage Vilda and Rubiales have caused within a team and they have very much used the recent success as a point to show that they were always 'right' in their decision. But at the same time, there is the grey cloud hanging over their head, that their success could also very much be their own demise. 

There are vast differences in the two coaches who are going to lead their teams onto the field come Sunday and each win will signify very different things. For England, it will be the triumph of a woman who is loved by her peers, her players and any nation that is lucky to have her. For Spain, it may be a victory, that despite their Federation and everything that has unfolded in the past year, these players came out fighting for their colours. But, the presence of Jorge Vilda will then become permanent and we may never see some of the greatest players play in the biggest stages of the world. So, choose your fighter carefully. 

Raiyan Binte Rafiq is a sports columnist for The Daily Star. She is currently pursuing an LLM, while freelancing for FootballCo and INDIVISA to cover UEFA Women's Champions League and Women's Super League. She also oversees recruitment at Next Level Sports Management based in Bangladesh.