Women’s soccer’s sleeping giant awoke gradually, painfully, in spite of its paternalistic self.
Spain’s rise to the top of the sport, which culminated with a victory in Sunday's World Cup final, has felt rapid. A month ago, La Roja had only ever won one Women’s World Cup game.
But its success had long been simmering; the giant had been stirring, winning championships at youth levels and producing wonderful players. Its problem, for decades, was neglect and machismo.
Spain’s soccer federation employed a single vindictive, disparaging, unqualified, “volatile,” “unprofessional” and flat-out bad women’s national team coach for 27 years.