Unpopular Spain boss Jorge Vilda hits out against doubts over his ‘honour’ and admits he’s endured ‘very hard times’ this year – with tensions rising in his team’s camp ahead of their World Cup final with England

Jorge Vilda has revealed he’s been through “very difficult times” this year amid reports of growing tensions within the Spanish national team camp.

The Spain women’s manager has become a polarizing figure within his squad, with those divisions becoming very apparent at this year’s World Cup.

Spain have lost just once during the tournament, a 4-0 loss to Japan in the group stage, with the 42-year-old side beating Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden to book their place. place in the final of the competition. .

Fractions emerged on the pitch, with Vilda notably running onto the pitch to celebrate with her players after their quarter-final triumph over the Netherlands, but was ignored by her team and was also snubbed by a handshake. ‘Alexia Putellas during their victory in the semi-finals. against Sweden.

Although he has achieved remarkable success since being appointed as head coach, leading the team to Algarve Cup and Cyprus Cup glory and now the World Cup final , the divisions between him and his players have only intensified throughout his tenure.

On Saturday, the Spaniard condemned any doubts about his ‘honor’ as a professional and added that he must continue to stay focused on his job.

When asked if he felt he was treated fairly by the media, he said Brand: ‘I don t appreciate. I know what this case is. When you win you are very good and when you lose you are very bad and you have to put things into perspective.

“What bothers me is when there was doubt about good repute and that’s when we went to a press conference and said that any player who hadn’t been treated in relation to going out. No one has gone out and it has been shown that during these fifteen years, the relationship has been professional.

Vilda has been at the center of several problems within the Spanish women’s national team in recent years, with some players going to the Spanish FA to complain about how unprepared they felt ahead of their 2022 European Championship quarter-final loss to England.

They claimed they lacked tactical analysis of the opposition and followed inadequate training sessions, with several stars arranging a video call with Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales.

He disagreed with their complaints, eventually leading some players to issue a statement claiming there was general unrest within the group as well as complaints about his controlling conduct.

In 2022, 15 players wrote to the Spanish FA saying they would not be available for selection while Vilda stayed on, saying he was “damaging their mental health”.

“You have no choice but to focus on the job and do what we have always done, which is to demand a lot after every game and after every training,” Vilda said on this what it was like to work with a disgruntled team. players.

“You have to focus on work, watch the performance of the players and try to simplify everything as much as possible so that the group is alive and happy. It was a two month job, but I think we are now a team with all the letters.

But he also revealed that this year had been very difficult to manage when asked to define the last 12 months.

“Difficult,” he said. “There were very difficult times. I also think it was a year that made us all better.

“After the year we’ve had, if all of this had to happen for us to be here in a World Cup final, we appreciate that as a positive.”

During the tournament, the Spanish coach was notably snubbed by several players, with Alexia Putellas crushing her Spanish coach’s hand after being substituted in their semi-final against Sweden. Vilda was also seen making an awkward figure as he stood next to him as they took a team selfie.

Although he said he hasn’t finalized his starting XI to play against England, the Spain manager also admitted that his side’s style of play won’t change much from what we have already seen throughout the tournament.