Laia Aleixandri: "It is inevitable to talk about what happened to Jenni. She is present"

When he calls his father, Xavier, 'Laia Maquina' appears on his cell phone. Aleixandri (Santa Coloma, 2000) wears this nickname that he has carried since he played with boys, “with character and competitive”. Raised in Barça and central defender of City, she was one of the 15 'rebels' who stood up and whom Jorge Vilda left out of the World Cup. Now he returns to the Montse Tomé team with stripes.

How is the atmosphere? Unlike the last concentration, which had to start differently and that's what we did, this time as soon as we stepped foot in Las Rozas we focused on Italy, Switzerland and welcoming Jenni. Happy that everything is so 'normal'. And how is Jenni? Very good, eager to contribute her football and, on a personal level, I have seen her calm, enjoying what being with the National Team entails. Do you talk to her about what happened? It is inevitable to talk about something that has marked us. What happens is that we try to normalize it and we even avoid it at many times.. But, sometimes, naturally, she is present again. She was one of the 15 'rebels' and was not in the World Cup due to the decision of the previous coach, was there anger? It was a difficult, hard moment, but I came from a previous situation in which he was not in a position to be selectable. It was a mix of sensations, because you see a group where your friends are competing magnificently and winning a World Cup, but you can't be there when you spend your life preparing. Did you ever think that, since Jorge Vilda didn't call you up, it would be better Have you stood firm in your position? No. At the time I decided that I was not prepared to be eligible because I felt that there were things that did not allow me to advance, progress.. Then there were individual conversations and, despite the fact that I was recovering during the final stretch of the season, I decided to focus on the national team.. But they decided that she was not among those chosen. What has Montse Tomé changed? She has said it: she had been there for five years but she did not decide. I think that the ambition, the enthusiasm and the drive to win the World Cup is going to give us a lot to evolve. One of his decisions has been to place her at center back, like at City, something that Jorge Vilda did not see. From the first moment he has given me complete confidence both as a center back and as a '6', but more as a center back. I notice her, and that is a change. She has been at City for a season and a half and has recognized that the Women's Super League demands 100%, how does the F League look from there? More than how it looks, it's how it feels. The F League has great potential, it can finally be seen on television, but there is still a gap with the English league that is noticeable in the professionalization, the stadiums, the fans or in the media monitoring. How many explanations have you had to give about everything that has happened with Spanish women's football? I have had to explain it many times. My City teammates ask me what happened to us and they are surprised. Everything that we are fighting for, they did years ago. Minimum wage, motherhood, working conditions…. Have they consolidated all of that? I always give a very clear example that I have experienced: my partner Demi Stokes is a mother and the club makes every effort for her with her son. As for the salary, I don't even know if there is one, because the clubs are very clear about it.. There you can see that the fight is over. He left the Barça youth team just when the club was taking off… It was the hardest decision of my career. At 16 years old and wanting to take on the world, I'm going to Atlético, which was league champion, and then became champion three more times, but at the same time it meant leaving home and the club of my life.. It made me grow as a person and as a footballer.Doubts that did not arise with CityIt was different. I felt that at Atlético I had given my maximum. Staying was doing it in a comfort zone. He needed challenges. In Manchester he has been very close to Guardiola and Estiarte…Pep comes to training, he has quite direct contact with us, he supports us…. Furthermore, you find Spaniards everywhere: the marketing manager, the cook…. That will make you feel at home. But, above all, Manel. He's very close, a great guy. And with Rodri? He said that he would like to talk to the captains about everything that has happened, you already have them nearby. Because the calendars make it difficult to coincide, but there would be no problem in the rapprochement that they propose with all the good sense in the world.. It is good to share experiences and explain to them the path we are on. And when their coach, Gareth Taylor, arrived, he told them that they would play like Guardiola's team, what reaction was there? I thought it was phenomenal. Pep's philosophy engages the entire club, the same thing he did at Barça. The feeling is very similar and now we see ourselves in a dynamic of competition, of knowing what we play, incredible. In 2011 you already said in a school essay that you wanted to be a footballer by profession. Was the path expected to be so easy or so difficult? I was a girl with dreams, passionate about being a soccer player, but I lived the journey, thanks to my family and friends, in a very natural way: enjoying it. Until he was 16, when Atlético de Madrid arrived, he did not imagine that he could be a professional. A different path begins there. From innocence you move on to something else. Does it pay to be a pioneer? Without a doubt. And I know that many others were before. We follow their example so that girls want to play soccer.