“Now it’s time to celebrate, right?” a journalist asked after Spain had qualified for their first ever Women’s World Cup final against England on Sunday.
“We have to celebrate, but with our heads — we have the final just around the corner,” Aitana Bonmati replied.
That response provoked some laughter among the press, who had just seen her team-mates screaming and parading through the mixed zone at Eden Park, promising that the night was going to be a long one. “There is always a rational person in the group,” one reporter said.
“Obviously I celebrated and had a good time,” Bonmati tells The Athletic in an exclusive interview two days before the World Cup final. “But my goal wasn’t to get to the final, it had always been to win it. And it hadn’t been won yet.
“We are elite athletes with a very physical and emotional wear and tear and have to take care of ourselves. I don’t think I said anything foolish.”
Proof, if you needed it, of how ambitious Bonmati really is. The midfielder is a born competitor and knows how big Sunday is after a season in which she confirmed she is one of the best players in world football.
She won the Champions League with her club side, Barcelona, and was named the competition’s best player. For Spain, she sets the tempo…
