Spain’s journey to their first Women’s World Cup final has been a long one, taking in a mass player walk-out in protest against the coach, Jorge Vilda, and a surprise 4-0 defeat against Japan in the group stage.
The semi-final against Sweden was just the latest obstacle they had to break down and, as always these days, leading the way in the narrow 2-1 win was Aitana Bonmatí, the bright, versatile and dominant Barcelona midfielder.
The 25-year-old grew up in Vilanova i la Geltrú, a coastal town south of Barcelona. She started breaking barriers at an early age after her family wanted to steer away from Spanish norms and decided to list Bonmatí’s mother’s surname in front of her father’s. “I’m very proud of what they did. This willingness to fight for women’s rights, I feel that I have it in my blood,” Bonmatí said on the Players’ Tribune.
Bonmatí started out playing for her local clubs, CD Ribes and CF Cubelles, who were boys’ or mixed teams. Girls did not play football on a large scale when Bonmatí was growing up and, like many players of her generation, she had primarily male role models such as the Barcelona manager and former player, Xavi Hernández. It is therefore rather nice that it is now Xavi who is watching Spain’s No 6.
“Watching Aitana play excites me, it gets me off my seat, and that’s the reason people are so passionate about this sport,” Xavi wrote in the prologue for Bonmatí’s biography. “She’s got all the ingredients to become the best player in the world because, on top of everything, she’s a real perfectionist.”
The Catalan playmaker has always prided herself on her work rate, being the first on and last off the training pitch throughout her youth and into her senior career. When asked to rate her performance against Switzerland when she scored twice and provided two assists, Bonmatí said: “From one to 10, a nine, because it can always be better.”
Barcelona picked up Bonmatí at the age of 13 in 2012 and there she formed part of the prestigious La Masia setup. She has stayed in blaugrana colours since, winning the league and cup double in her first season. Eleven years later she has four La Liga titles and has won the Champions League twice, the second one in June this year.
Bonmatí has played for Spain at every junior level: under-17, under-19 and under-20. She twice finished runner-up at youth World Cups and twice at the youth Euros. In 2017, she made her senior Spain debut against Austria in a 2019 World Cup qualifier.
The majority of the Spanish players have either played together at club level or have come through the youth ranks successfully together. During Spain’s semi-final against Sweden, six Barcelona players started for Spain and nine play their club football in their home country.
“We have a core of players who have won everything with Barça. When you know each other from the club, it’s easier,” Bonmatí has said. “Since Barça has grown so much, it’s logical that the national team improves, too. We have done a lot of physical work at Barça, and we have built a much stronger mentality. Without this, winning the World Cup is impossible.”
Bonmatí forms part of one of the most talented midfields in world football with Alexia Putellas and Patri Guijarro but the latter is not at the World Cup after the boycott that saw 15 players walk out in a protest against the coach, Vilda, and the Spanish FA.
Only three of those players were selected by Vilda for this World Cup with Bonmatí being one of them. Ona Batlle and Mariona Caldentey are the other two. But it has not been an easy time for the players. “The player strike was so difficult,” Bonmatí told the Players’ Tribune. “You miss out on matches, money, sponsors, everything. You get killed in the press. But I wanted to be part of it. I felt that the Spanish football federation needed to invest more in us.”
In addition to the absence of Guijarro, Bonmatí has had to take more responsibility in midfield after Putellas ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament on the eve of last year’s European Championship. She is still not back to her best. It took Bonmatí a few months to get comfortable in a bigger role in midfield but once she stopped trying to fill the gap left by Putellas by trying to be, well, Putellas, she found herself again. She has now taken her game to another level.
Bonmatí has taken on Putellas’s role as a player closer to the forward line and has started scoring many more goals as well as providing more assists. It has added a new layer to her game and she finished last season with 14 goals and 18 assists in Liga F and the Champions League. What’s more, she has been able to seamlessly take that club form into the world’s biggest tournament.
“What can you say? She’s absolutely amazing,” said Sweden’s Fridolina Rolfö, who is a Barcelona teammate of Bonmatí, before the semi-final against Spain.
“Her skills on the ball and ability to read the game are unique. To be honest, even though people are talking about her a lot, I still don’t think she gets the credit she deserves. If you watch what she does on the field, it’s hard to believe.”
On Sunday Bonmatí and her teammates have the chance to write history yet again. England stand in their way but Spain enter the showdown full of confidence. And why shouldn’t they? In Bonmatí they have a kind of player the Lionesses have yet to face at this World Cup. Elegant yet decisive, defensively smart yet a threat going forward. This could be her moment.
