Irene Paredes grasped the trophy and took two steps forward before stopping. She looked up at the sky, took a moment, and closed her eyes, grimacing as she tried to hold back the tears. But it was too late — she was finally lifting a title as Spain captain.
Paredes was a key part of the Spanish side that won the Women’s World Cup last summer and had been captain for four years before that, but she was stripped of the armband before that tournament for her role in a player protest against then-head coach Jorge Vilda and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). In September 2022, she had been one of the three players to support ‘Las 15’ — the 15 players who wrote the letter to the RFEF standing down from international duty until changes were made — albeit without sending the same letter to the RFEF.
So the Barcelona defender did not lift the most important title in the history of Spanish women’s football as captain. That honour went to Real Madrid’s Ivana Andres instead. It meant victory in Wednesday’s inaugural UEFA Nations League final had special significance for Paredes. Her thoughts immediately turned to her late father, who died just before the World Cup.
You only had to look at the images of the team celebrating to see it had special significance for all of…
