It's not just about what happens, but what people think happens. It is one of the basic precepts of communication, an essential starting point before addressing the conflict between the soccer players of the national team and the Spanish Federation.. A fight that has transcended football to be at the center of the media spotlight. A game of perceptions where the emotional plays a predominant role and that permeates all strata of society. To the point that citizen understanding in the face of a legitimate struggle for rights can evolve into weariness with an endless war.. Have the world champions lost the image battle? Here are some answers.

Reyes Bellver, lawyer for the majority union FUTPRO, knows a lot about the firmness of the internationals, determined to make structural changes in the City of Football.. “It is always beneficial to maintain the same line. And the players, for a long time, have had things very clear, with a well-thought-out strategy.. I understand that it may tire public opinion, but they are fighting to change a system and they are going to sustain the fight until the end,” this specialist in Sports Law, recently elected as a TAS arbitrator, explains to EL MUNDO..

What carpets had to be lifted in Las Rozas? How should change really be forged? These questions had been floating around for some time, without the footballers clarifying anything. Until last Thursday, Irene Paredes and Alexia Putellas, captains, spoke openly about “decades of systematic discrimination”, in the form of endless bus trips, early morning flights and a treacherous modus operandi: “We have been treated like girls”. Immediately, the detractors charged the bayonet. Why had they let so much time pass? Because right now?

“The demands already existed”

“On this question I want to be very clear,” Bellver ditches.. “Just because these demands have not received media attention before does not mean that they have not existed.. I have attended many private meetings between the parties, both from this team and from previous international ones, such as during the Vero Boquete era.. And if they have now reached the point where they did not want to be summoned, it is because there was no progress in the negotiation.. “It has been, like the F League strike, a last resort.”

That strike by the soccer players, which would affect the first day of the championship, served to establish a minimum salary of 21,000 euros per year.. But it also made annoyance proliferate. This same week, Miquel Iceta, acting Minister of Culture and Sports, congratulated himself because things “that were not done” in the RFEF “will be done”; while Carlos Flores, Vox deputy in Congress, tweeted a photo of the internationals under the heading “They do not represent me”. Was so much wear and tear taking its toll?

“In general, public opinion does not tolerate a lack of responses, disdain or arrogance; while closeness, understanding, agility when acting or flexibility are much better received,” responds Helena López-Casares, vice dean of postgraduate studies of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the European University.

It is very important to take care of your forms and be cautious and empathetic.

Helena López-Casares (European University)

At first, the Federation had shown itself inclined to consensus, although it did not take long to list possible sporting sanctions and financial fines.. “I consider that the RFEF did not threaten, but rather remembered what the Sports Law says. However, given the great sensitivity of public opinion towards issues such as that of Luis Rubiales, it is very important to take care of manners and be cautious and empathetic when communicating, showing sensitivity and courtesy at all times,” López adds to this newspaper. -Casares, doctor in neuroscience and leadership specialist.

The role of the RFEF

Andreu Camps, general secretary of the RFEF dismissed last Wednesday, was the first piece to fall. Right-hand man of Rubiales, author of the complaint against the Government presented to UEFA, he was considered the main person responsible for 20 of the 23 international matches being called up against his will.. It was one of the red lines of the champions, who were accused of asking for his head. One of the proper names of this crisis, in the opinion of Fernando Botella. “The real person responsible, not guilty, for how the crisis has been managed is the RFEF board.. When exercising command they have the responsibility to find solutions. But instead of generating a certain calm, they have done the opposite, setting the atmosphere on fire with wrong decisions and creating distrust between all parties.. The falsehoods guided the board toward manipulation,” says Botella, an expert in leadership, talent, innovation and organizational transformation.

The vindictive gesture, before the match against Switzerland. EFE

How should the Federation leadership have acted, then? “First of all they should have taken the bull by the horns, normalizing the environment and finding solutions. Then, do everything possible to identify common interests and achieve them. Finally, agree on new conditions, without threatening. In my opinion, that was the most erroneous part of this entire process,” argues Botella, with an extensive career as a manager in the pharmaceutical industry.

Of course, in this tainted environment, the figure of coach Montse Tomé seems to be called into question. “He has been accused of not being sincere and that the communication is not correct. To run a dressing room you have to go with the truth first. But we have come across the lack of leadership in the RFEF government. And that is note,” says Bellver, for whom the immediate solution is through “courage”: “Be it with Montse, talking to the players. And if it is with another coach, the same. Offer that guide that does not exist now.”

“The normal thing is for Tomé to leave the team. And in my opinion, after his departure he should convey in a statement the lessons he has learned.. Especially in terms of that 'lack of communication' that she herself has admitted existed with her players,” Botella concludes.. Despite the recent victories against Sweden (2-3) and Switzerland (5-0), the CEO of Think & Action still does not see the coach as a “potential leader” of the national team: “In one way or another she has left out of the possibility of leading this locker room in the future. “That doesn't mean he can't do it with other teams, but he's lost this opportunity.”

“It's something disruptive, uncomfortable”

Another of the most recurring reproaches to the soccer players in recent days was their angry reaction, especially in the case of Jenni Hermoso, to the “safe environment” promised by the board.. To analyze this concept, diffuse for a large part of the public, this newspaper has contacted Carolina Escudero, professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).. “The protection that the RFEF boasted about is a measure that is imposed, not one that is addressed through dialogue. To a large extent it reminds us of the symbolic violence that the French sociologist Pierre Bordieu spoke about.. A violence anchored in a place of power, which does not recognize the other, does not humanize them. Simply decide and dominate, as if it were a natural act. Today, female soccer players are denaturalizing violence. This is something disruptive, uncomfortable, a process that takes time,” says this doctor in Social Psychology.

For Botella, doing without Jenni in the matches against Sweden and Switzerland was an “absolute leadership error”, a sign that the RFEF “did not understand the magnitude of the matter”. “Leaving her out alluding to these protection measures seems to me like a blockage for the conflict to dissolve.”. An excuse, in short. And where there are excuses there is no leadership,” says the author of Salta Contigo (Alienta, 2022), the last of his eight published books..

#SeAcabó transcends borders, cultures and languages. Was it late? It was when it had to be.

Carolina Escudero (UAB)

Only after the intervention of the Higher Sports Council, with Víctor Francos at the helm, did the waters redirect again, which helps Escudero to remember that “it is not too late” to continue moving forward thanks to “mediation”. “These are structures established throughout history that, for the first time, are being questioned, not from within, but from countries like the US or Sweden.. Nor is it an exclusive issue for women, because the reaction of men is seen in cases like that of Sevilla FC with its vindictive shirt.. #SeAcabó transcends borders, cultures and languages. Was it late? It was when it had to be,” emphasizes the Argentine researcher.

The hug between Putellas and Tomé after the 5-0 against Switzerland in Córdoba. AFP

As a culmination, it is a good idea to listen to Bellver again, prepared for everything that lies ahead. “This has only just begun,” he warns, before offering a rather pessimistic view. “If this happens in the men's team, I would like to see if we had had the same responses from public opinion. Society questions women, but when managers do it or players demand changes, society accepts it better.”

Finally, it is once again pertinent to look back to know how the future can be unraveled. “The RFEF was created in the thinking of another era. While feminism advanced in other countries, Spain lived in a dictatorship and that modified many practices and beliefs,” recalls Escudero. “To modify certain structures rooted in the normalization of machismo and the discredit of women, it is necessary to maintain this position over time, to give space to discomfort, to the need to change,” he concludes.

There is no shortage of attractions on the Asian tour that begins this Friday at the ATP 500 in Beijing Carlos Alcaraz. To begin with, it is his debut on a continent where he has not yet been able to show off his racket due to the pandemic that canceled tournaments in that part of the planet in the last three years.. The truth is that eight members of the top 10 are mentioned in the Chinese capital. “It's like a Masters 1000 or a Grand Slam,” says Daniil Medvedev, second seed, the man against whom the Spaniard played his last match to date, in the semifinals of the United States Open..

“It was like different, like I was missing something. I can finally come. I have always wanted to do it, play in front of the Chinese public and feel what they have told me the players felt, that there is a lot of tennis,” says Alcaraz, who will also compete in the Shanghai Masters 1000, from October 5 to 15..

Absent Novak Djokovic, who will only play the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals in the last stretch of the season, Alcaraz will try to regain the first place in the ranking that he lost in New York. “We have a nice battle for number 1, especially after Djokovic's great performance in America. “I come here with extra motivation to try to close the gap in the classification. “It's something that I keep in mind every time I train, in every tournament.”.

Other priorities

At 36 years old, this year's winner of the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open has clear priorities, which are none other than continuing to win major titles and widening the gap with Rafael Nadal, whom he now leads by two, 24 percent. 22. In the Race, at this point of the year the most indicative classification, Nole only has 770 points ahead of Alcaraz. Given that the Murcian, in addition to the two tournaments in Asia, Paris-Bercy and the ATP Finals in Turin, will also play the ATP 500 in Basel, from October 21 to 28, his chances of closing his second consecutive year at the top They are by no means disposable.

Within a demanding field of 32 players, if he surpasses Yannik Hanfmann, 53rd, from the previous phase, Alcaraz could face Karen Khachanov, who has just won his first title in five years in Zhuhai, and always on the field of the hypothesis, then face Casper Ruud, Jannik Sinner or Holger Rune, before a final against Medvedev.

Champion at Wimbledon, Indian Wells, Madrid, Barcelona, Queen's and Buenos Aires, and finalist in Rio and Cincinnati, Alcaraz appears in Beijing with a total of 58 wins and seven losses this season. A year ago, he suffered a certain implosion at this point in the course. After winning his first major in New York and becoming the youngest number 1 in history, he beat the Korean Soonwoo Kwon in the Davis Cup, but lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime, to whom he would also lose in the Basel semifinals, after fall against David Goffin early in Astana. The abdominal injury suffered against Rune in the Paris-Bercy quarterfinals would end the course. In 2023 he has dispensed with the Davis Cup to better recover from the American tour.

Madrid needed a victory to overcome the small depression of the derby against Atlético, a psychological blow before facing the first-class port that will be the visits to Girona in the League and Naples in the Champions League.. And at the Bernabéu, with the joy of the returns of Vinicius and Ceballos and the concern over Alaba's injury, he achieved it against Las Palmas. Brahim and Joselu scored in the middle of a period of enough chances for a rout. It was not like that, but the whites maintain the path of the surprising Girona, leader of the League.

Ancelotti gave Brahim the opportunity that the Bernabéu asked for, happy with the Andalusian's minutes during this start of the season. The Italian had insisted that he deserved more playing time and took advantage of the weekday and the theoretical superiority of his team against Las Palmas to rotate Bellingham and give the former Milan player an alternative.. Did not disappoint. Brahim, when Chamartín was already smelling the half-time snack, put a reassuring 1-0 on the scoreboard after 45 minutes of “oops.”

Up to 18 shots, 8 of them on goal, the whites accumulated in the first period of the match. One after another, the shots crashed into the hands of Álvaro Valles, who put together a colossal performance beyond the numbers. Rodrygo and Joselu once again shared the lead and misfortunes, because they were not able to touch the visitors' nets in the initial stretch, to the despair of the stands.. This Madrid has a problem with the goal, but not because it doesn't try, but because of the quality with which it defines the goal. It was noticed more than ever against Las Palmas. In the 5th, Rodrygo, with a volley from the penalty spot, inexplicably hit the center. Only from the pressure and anxiety of not scoring can we understand the Brazilian's mistake, who has accumulated 31 shots without seeing the goal.

Madrid constantly took advantage of Las Palmas' advanced defense, which tried to put pressure on the white midfield by joining its lines, but freed up too much space behind it.. The one who understood it best was Fede Valverde, Madrid's best in the first half. In the 18th minute, a combination between the Uruguayan and Brahim ended at the feet of Joselu, who began his torment against Valles there.. The forward missed again and again, three times with his left foot, against the goalkeeper. And Rodrygo, maintaining his nerves and stress, was not skilled either on the couple of occasions he had.. Not even Nacho could score from inside the small area.

In the 40th minute, with the score at 0-0, the coaching staff regretted the injury to Alaba, who put his hand on his right leg.. It seemed like a muscular issue, something expected after having played 90 minutes of the previous six days.. On the pitch, Valverde continued breaking lines and leading Madrid. The Uruguayan put pressure on several Las Palmas ball exits and took advantage of one to give in to Lucas, who assisted Brahim inside the area so that he, after feinting a couple of times, beat Valles.

After the break, Madrid was less of a steamroller and more controlling. He didn't finish as much and limited himself to saving strength for future matches while the Bernabéu was encouraged by watching Vinicius and Ceballos warm up.. The return of the Brazilian and the Andalusian will give Ancelotti more options and, they hope in Valdebebas, more goals than they have shown at the beginning of the season. When his compatriot was preparing to go in, Rodrygo approached to talk to the coach and in the next play he asked for the ball, faced his marker and placed a perfect cross with his left so that Joselu, there, scored the second goal of the game. late. The Spaniard retaliated by punching the ground in anger while the Bernabéu chanted his goal and his effort.

The ovation for Vinicius ended the match, although there was still half an hour left.. Madrid was satisfied with the result and joined forces with Las Palmas, who beyond a couple of approaches from Viera, did not endanger Kepa's goal. Ceballos gave a different rhythm to a midfield that was too passive and Rodrygo could have scored the goal that would alleviate his pain, but he couldn't.

On the bench, Bellingham and Modric did not even warm up to avoid greater problems, with Alaba's physical problems on their minds and the double visit to Girona and Naples on the horizon. On Saturday, duel for the leadership in Montilivi.

Girona is now the leader alone after overcoming a Villarreal team at the La Cerámica Stadium that has not yet reacted after the arrival of Pacheta. His presence at the top of LaLiga is not the result of chance.. It is a brave and unapologetic proposal from Míchel's team, which seems in a position to take a step forward this season after dreaming of playing in Europe last year.. Players have been added to the base they already had, among whom Savio shines with his own light, one of those players capable of making things happen practically every time the ball reaches them.

Of course, this time he had a tough nut to crack in front of him like Juan Foyth, a full-back capable of unhinging Vinicius and who managed to more or less keep the Brazilian from Girona at bay, whom they were constantly looking for to launch his runs down the left flank to reach the with danger.

Girona was not cowed even by the scare of Morales, who finished high a pass from Baena into the area when the minute of play had not yet passed.. The Catalans were discussing control of the game against a Villarreal team that was warming up little by little.

Pacheta put aside the rotations that he did make in Europe and came out with the closest thing to an ideal eleven that he has at the moment. He made up for the absence of the injured Gerard by placing Álex Baena behind Sorloth, leaving Morales and Yeremy at the extremes.. The Canarian footballer was the most incisive of a Villarreal team whose best options came on the counterattack, taking advantage of the high pressure and advanced defense of Girona and the speed of its three playmakers, without forgetting that of Pedraza back in the team after his suspension.. An attack by the winger ended with the ball hitting the post after deflecting a defender.

Villarreal finished the first half well, with a double chance from Yeremy. The first was saved by Gazzaniga after a deep ball from Mandi for the Canarian and the second, a header from Baena's center that went wide.. The second started even better, with a penalty converted by Parejo after Iván Martín blocked Capoue on the side of the area.

Girona's reaction was immediate, on the field and on the bench. The Catalan team responded with two good chances from Dovbyk, a header deflected by Jorgensen and a volley that missed him by centimeters.. The Ukrainian striker did not miss the third time, as he got around Mandi to finish off a measured cross from Savio at the far post.

Courage and reaction

Girona, who already showed against Mallorca that they do not shrink from being behind on the scoreboard, only needed five minutes to turn the score around against a Villarreal that, incomprehensibly, disappeared when the wind was in their favor. The yellow defense fell asleep on a short corner kick and Aleix had plenty of time to reach the area, where Eric headed in completely alone.. Girona repeated the play in the next corner and this time Aleix's ball ended up hitting the crossbar.

There were hardly any signs of reaction from a lost and nervous Villarreal that could have suffered a heavier defeat. Jorgensen still cannot clear up the doubts generated by his new age and lost a ball outside the area that Stuani was about to score into an empty goal. The Uruguayan also sent a shot to the post in the midst of an offensive by a Girona team that does not use the verb to mirror and is already the leader with all its merits.

Tension in the Roman Marco Simone venue, headquarters of the Ryder Cup, the competition that is held every four years on the European continent and which represents the big business of the DP World Tour, the old European Circuit, which achieves an increase in its income in about 40% in each of your exercises. Television rights, ticket sales, and merchandising sales account for the majority of the pie.. Since the Ryder Cup was held in 1997 in Valderrama, choosing the venue seems more like an economic auction than a recognition of the merits and efforts of each of the candidates to win the juicy cake created by a seed merchant named Samuel Ryder at the beginning. of the 20th century.

In 2002, the competition was held on the English course of The Belfry, owned by one of the wealthiest Irish families, later sold to American private capital.. In 2006 it was Ireland's turn with The K Club, bought by Irish magnate Jefferson Smurfit.. In 2010, the Ryder Cup landed in Wales, in another luxurious resort, Celtic Manor, owned by another billionaire, in this case the Canadian, Sir Terence Hedley Matthews.. In 2014 it was the Scottish resort of Gleneagles that welcomed Europe and the United States, with the guarantees of the alcoholic beverage production and distribution giant Diageo, the owners of the course.

The flow of millionaires with luxury resorts in Europe had to dry up and the European Tour decided to change its election model and open the possibility for different candidates to show their interest in hosting the Ryder Cup and embark on a cumbersome election process.

On May 11, 2011, in a televised ceremony, the delegations of Portugal, Germany, France and Spain, after years of work, investments, projects and signings (in Spain, Madrid Turismo hired Seve Ballesteros), France was finally designated as the headquarters for the 2018 Ryder Cup. That was a huge mess, and the secret vote of the supposed committee was another pantomime in a process as absurd as it was cruel for the losing candidates.

The push

In the auction for the 2022 Ryder, the interested parties were Germany, Austria, Portugal, Turkey, Italy and Spain. Italy won, a candidacy that was, on paper, a millionaire, with 97 million euros that were going to be provided by the Government as a guarantee for the Rome championship.. Among the commitments made by the Romans was a European Tour tournament that would be held for 11 years (before and after the Ryder Cup) and that had seven million euros in prizes in each edition, two Challenge Tour tournaments (second division) per year and one Senior Tour event for professionals over 50 years of age.

But the story of the milkmaid faded, first with the elimination by the Italian Senate of the regulations that guaranteed the almost 100 million euros promised.. In Wentworth, headquarters of the European tour, all the alarms went off, and there was no choice but to continue ahead.. The 11 million-dollar tournaments were reduced to three and the annual event now distributes only three million, the same amount as the two Circuit tournaments that are played this year in Spain. On the Challenge Tour they maintain one tournament, when Spain hosts three (including the most important of the year that closes the Challenge Tour, that of Mallorca) and Italy organizes one more event on the Senior Tour, the same number as Spain.

Faced with the unexpected economic disaster, the Italian Federation had to increase the membership fee of its members by 25 euros to cover part of the expenses generated by the competition.. Previously, the Italian member of legal age paid 75 euros per year, now he pays 100. In fact, since the election of Rome was announced in 2015, until this year there are barely 4,000 more licensed players in Italy, exceeding the figure of 94,000 players.. Spain has close to 300,000.

The pandemic caused a one-year delay in the Ryder event initially scheduled for 2022, and that allowed the Spaniards Lara Arias and Alejandro Reyes to rebuild a golf course from its ashes to create a course that is already a reference and has received all the congratulations from the players. “It has been quite a challenge,” says Leonese Lara Arias, in charge of the entire project.. The access road was completed a week ago and Marco Simone's field has been ready, in extremis, for the big event. Everything indicates that it will be a Ryder Cup to remember.

Now, with the Ryder Cup of the 2027 edition awarded to the luxury resort of Adare Manor, owned by Irish millionaire JP McManus, which once again saves the ticket to Europe, Spain does not lose hope, and will bid to host 2031.