The metamorphosis of Montse Tomé: low profile, praetorian guard and brilliant results

The image that existed of Montse Tomé has been transformed since September 5. Until that moment, she was the assistant who suffered and celebrated with Jorge Vilda on the bench of the Spanish National Team since 2018, the one to whom Luis Rubiales made the mistake of loudly naming her sports director in a shameful assembly that ended up setting football on fire. Spanish. When he landed on the national bench he lived in a storm about to explode. And it has been in that dense environment where a metamorphosis has occurred that leads Spain to be one point away from qualifying for the final four of the Nations League, which can open the door to the Paris Games and give a second international title. to the absolute. If for De la Fuente the League of Nations was a boost of confidence, for Tomé it follows the same path.

Spain has two opportunities to close a brilliant classification. He should do it tonight in Pontevedra against Italy, a rival that demanded him in the first match and that forced the shortest score, which only Jenni Hermoso could open in the 89th minute. If they stumble, they have the option of Sweden on Tuesday at La Rosaleda, but without defeats and with only three goals against and 13 in favor, there is little doubt that they will achieve it.

Tomé has had to abandon his low profile off the field in order to earn respect in the locker room and, above all, off the field.. The resignation letter that she, along with a good part of those who now form her technical staff, signed hours after the Assembly, which, she has now acknowledged, was forced to attend and sit next to Vilda, with whom she broke their communication.

From the mistakes he saw he has learned. He has strengthened his coaching staff, which acts as a praetorian guard, with auxiliary technicians such as Irene del Río or analysts such as Kiko Meléndez and the psychologist Emi González. There are those who remember that part of the technical decisions that were made in the World Cup came from the proposals of Tomé and Javier Lerga, his second.

“I am not Jorge Vilda,” he has repeated at many times in these four months. Her style of play has adapted to the potential of the World Champion players and she has known how to recover those who were damaged by a long process of a year and a half fighting with the Federation.. His entourage is aware that in the first call he lacked communication skills before the media and also a firm hand to stop some situations before that concentration in Oliva. She had to be a spokesperson and she was not yet prepared. Today he continues to flee from everything that is not party.

The arrival of Markel Zubizarreta is going to strip her of that thankless role. “He is a person who has a lot of experience and is going to help us in many aspects,” says the coach.. One of his tasks will be to grease relations with those like Mapi León or Patri Guijarro who still have not returned to Spain.

Ambition to improve

On the pitch, the team has recovered from all the torments with key results such as the victory against Sweden or the defeat of Switzerland. Merit of the champions, including two Ballon d'Or awards, but far from the self-management that they had to exercise in some moments of the World Cup. «We start from a great base. These players are world champions, but they have to improve. They have ambition and also a desire to learn from what we can teach them from the coaching staff,” he says.

Only Italy put them in trouble. “They are a powerful team that locked themselves in, but we don't know if they will repeat it, because they have played more openly in other games,” warned Tomé, who still has doubts about Irene Paredes but will have Mariona. Also with Laia Codina, who will go to court in the morning to testify in the case of Jenni's abuse. “It is not the ideal scenario, but she is calm and from the Federation we are going to help her,” he told the coach. And that is already a mutation.