Spain federation decides to kill the mood with pro-Jorge Vilda post

You don’t always have to post

You don’t always have to post.

That’s the lesson for Spain’s federation, who punctuated the nation’s first-ever Women’s World Cup win with an extraordinarily smug and poorly-timed social media post shortly after captain Ivana Andrés lifted the trophy on Sunday.

The official Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) account for the nation’s women’s national team could have easily posted a slew of celebratory photos, gifs, and videos after a 1-0 win over England.

Instead, the choice was provocative.

“Vilda In,” read the post on the social media app formerly known as Twitter, above a photo of Spain manager Jorge Vilda kissing the World Cup trophy.

The issue? Vilda is deeply unpopular with fans worldwide, and with many of Spain’s players. Back in September 2022, 15 players wrote letters to the federation, decrying Vilda for both a lack of appropriate preparation for games and refusing to grant players privacy, among other issues.

The RFEF took the remarkable step of both acknowledging that the players had concerns about their mental health, and completely dismissing their concerns. Instead, the official reply came with a threat that players who refuse call-ups can be banned for playing for the national team for between two and five years.

As a result, Spain has been under pressure for nearly a full year to dismiss Vilda, who was booed by the crowd at Stadium Australia before and after Sunday’s final.

In the end, the federation stuck with the 42-year-old manager, while applying inconsistent responses to “las 15.” Three of the reported players to speak out against Vilda (Ona Batlle, Aitana Bonmatí, and Mariona Caldentey) ended up as vital starters for Spain throughout the World Cup, while five more made themselves available for a return only to be left home. The remaining seven, from all available evidence, refused to back down.

Vilda, meanwhile, refused to address the situation publicly, even as members of his squad could be seen after knockout round wins openly avoiding any celebration with him. The team’s progression through the tournament has resulted in plenty of dissonance, as a Spanish victory is also a Vilda victory. It remains a messy situation: some players were still steering clear of him amid the falling confetti, while others joined staff members in heaving him skyward in celebration.

(AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

All of which makes doing a “Vilda In” post such a bizarre choice. In what could be a moment of pure celebration for a fractured group, Spain’s federation decided to use an official channel to take one more swipe at its own players and those that back them.

Fans and observers are left with a really difficult situation to parse. An extravagantly talented team that looks set to be a top side for years to come should draw a huge number of admirers. However, with Spain’s federation repeatedly and aggressively backing a coach many of those players have said shouldn’t be in his post, that success comes with a very unpleasant aftertaste.

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