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The Guardian
12-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Esther González: ‘Now girls can grow up in Spain knowing we have Ballon d'Or winners'
Esther González is at the top of her game. The 32-year-old striker's list of accolades – World Cup winner, three-time Liga F champion, NWSL champion, Copa de la Reina victor and Concacaf W Champions Cup winner – is matched by few in the sport. But as a young girl growing up in southern Spain, her path was uncertain, rife with obstacles: 'As a child, I dreamed of what I wanted to be when I grew up. It was a soccer player. But, let's say, circumstances didn't allow me to see women's soccer or anything close to women's soccer.' Growing up with three sisters, González's earliest memories of football were playing with her hermanas in their small village in Andalusia. She dreamed of being a footballer, but there wasn't a path before her. The shy young talent with a nose for goals would play with the local boys: they needed a goalscorer and she stepped in. As González grew, her father took her on car journeys of more than four hours each way to get to training. Today González and Spanish women's football are in a much different place: 'The change in mentality that took place in Spain was incredible, because until about five years ago the visibility we had was very low,' she says. 'So we really had to work hard and many times we had to work in the shadows. Girls can now grow up knowing that in Spain there are Ballon d'Or players who can become world champions.' Since the inaugural Ballon d'Or Feminin in 2018, four of six trophies have gone to two Spanish players, twice each to Barcelona's Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí. On the challenges they all faced, González says: 'I feel lucky because I am part of that transition, because I have lived the part from when, let's say, we had almost no opportunities to live … ' The drive to succeed despite inordinate obstacles is evident in the way González plays, and the unique journey she's taken. The 5ft 3in forward is skilled in the air despite her height, has a remarkable intuition for time and space, astutely adapts her game to the opposition, and contributes defensively. She left Real Madrid in 2023 as their all-time leading scorer, with 39 goals in 77 games, and co-leads the NWSL golden boot race with seven goals in 11 games. 'I'm not just a player, but a player who thinks a lot, who works hard on matches even before they start, because I try to determine who I'm facing and who I'm not.' This summer in Switzerland, González will be one of four Spain players from the NWSL at the Euros. Now at Gotham FC, she says the challenge of something new, something unique, was behind her move to the US. She was attracted to Gotham's ambitions, the league's competitive depth. 'When I left Spain to come here, I came to prove that I was also a much more complete player, better than the one who only knows how to touch the ball, than the one who also knows how to adapt.' González signed for Gotham FC in the summer of 2023, and quickly made an impact, scoring the winning goal in the NWSL Championship. In May in Mexico, she scored Gotham's winner in a 1-0 victory over Tigres in the Concacaf W Champions Cup, securing her second trophy Stateside. Two more goals followed for Spain in the Nations League, but González is not resting on her laurels. 'I hope I'm not in my best moment. I hope to have better moments, that the best is yet to come.' Ambitious, focused, invigorated by hard-earned achievements – just like her national team. After winning their first World Cup in 2023, and enduring the fallout from the Rubiales scandal, Spain's confidence in major tournaments has improved on 2022, when La Roja lost 2-1 to England in the quarter-final (that goal scored by González). 'In order to create things you have to first believe that you can achieve them,' she says. 'As a team, we believe we can achieve everything.' Of the Euros, where Spain share a competitive group with Italy, Belgium and Portugal, she adds: 'It will be difficult, tough, there will be times when we're tired, when there's also a lot of traveling involved, but to achieve things, you have to believe that you can achieve them. And so I believe and work to make that happen.' Is there anything you have always wanted to ask the USWNT and former Chelsea coach Emma Hayes? Then now is your chance. I was lucky to score a goal. It must be because I'm wearing Pernille Harder's shirt' – Christian Eriksen after scoring a goal for Denmark's men against Northern Ireland. The team wore women's jerseys in a friendly against Northern Ireland in Copenhagen. USL summit: The USA's second top-flight professional women's football league, the USL Super League, will have its first Championship final as a division one sports league on Saturday evening. The regular season's runners-up Tampa Bay Sun face fourth-placed Fort Lauderdale United. Bumpy ride: In Cary, North Carolina, a squad of USWNT veterans (including World Cup-winning legends such as Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly and Ali Krieger) teamed up with rising NCAA stars to win the TST Women's Tournament for a second straight year. The US team beat Bumpy Pitch FC 3-0 to claim the seven-a-side tournament's $1m prize. Over the weekend, the 25-year-old Chicago Stars forward Ally Schlegel scored her first goal of the year from 34.4 yards– that's a Chicago record. Arsenal have announced that all of the club's home WSL matches will be played at the Emirates next season. Suzanne Wrack has more. And if you missed Tuesday's edition of Moving the Goalposts, catch up on our interview with Aisha Masaka right here.
Washington Post
27-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Juan Ramón Verón, who scored at Old Trafford for Argentina's Estudiantes de La Plata, dies at 81
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Juan Ramón Verón, who scored a goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford to help Argentina's Estudiantes de La Plata win the 1968 Intercontinental Cup, died on Tuesday, his former team said. He was 81. Verón, nicknamed 'the Witch,' was the father of Juan Sebastián, the current president of Estudiantes and himself a former player.
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Footballer, 15, collapses and dies during match in Mexico after suspected heatstroke - as investigation launched into tragedy
An investigation has reportedly been launched after a 15-year-old player collapsed and died during a football match in Mexico. Atziri Ledif Galeana Valencia, 15, had been playing for Chivas Lcz against Toriz in the final of a girls' tournament on Saturday. Atziri reportedly collapsed in the 72nd minute of the match due to suspected heat stroke. The match was reported to have been played during a heatwave, with temperatures reaching over 34 degrees Celsius. She was given CPR and oxygen as well as cold compresses in a bid to cool her down, according to Need To Know. Atziri was taken to hospital in an ambulance, but tragically died. The match and tournament was suspended following her collapse, with matches then cancelled on Sunday. The Michoacan State Prosecutor's Office has now launched an investigation to determine whether health and safety guidelines had been followed. Chivas paid a glowing tribute to Atziri following her death, with the club describing her as a 'champion'. 'The club Chivas Lzc Family is going through the worst of times saying goodbye to you, dear Atziri Galeana,' a Chivas statement read. 'You will always live in our hearts. You have left an indelible mark on the lives of your teammates, coaching staff, supporters, and the Club. 'Until we meet again to play a more beautiful final, rest in peace, champion. 'Celebrate up there as you leave as a worthy champion. We will always carry this championship in our hearts for you, forever our warrior.' Liga Deportiva de Guacamayas, who oversaw the tournament, also offered a tribute to Atziri. The organisation also shared a floral tribute in memory of Atziri. 'We deeply regret what happened in the final of the Women's Youth category between the Chivas and Arcelor Mittal Toriz teams,' a statement read. 'We join in the grief that overwhelms the family of Nina Atziri Galeana, a player for the Chivas team, and the sports community of our MUNICIPAL LEAGUE. 'We express our condolences for this irreparable loss, expressing our solidarity at this time with her family, parents and siblings, with the hope that they soon find comfort.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
🚨Official: CAS upholds Expansion's appeal against the FMF
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. This Wednesday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed the existence of the appeal filed by 10 teams from the Expansion League against the Mexican Football Federation, in favor of the return of promotion and relegation in the country. "The Court of Arbitration for Sport received the appeal filed on May 19, 2025, by 10 second-division clubs of Mexican football against the Mexican Football Association". Advertisement "The appeal requests the reinstatement of the promotion and relegation system in the first division of Mexican football, Liga MX, which was suspended for six seasons starting from the 2019/2020 season, during the Covid-19 pandemic", they report in a statement. Similarly, it is clarified that the teams involved are: CF Atlante, Club Atlético La Paz, Club Atlético Morelia, Cancún FC, Cimarrones de Sonora FC, Alebrijes de Oaxaca FC, CD Mineros de Zacatecas, Venados FC, Leones Negros de la UdeG, and Jaiba Brava The CAS also states that "The Parties" are in the phase of exchanging writings in accordance with the arbitration rules, and once completed, a hearing will be scheduled 📸 ALFREDO ESTRELLA - AFP or licensors
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
José Caballero's diving catch
José Caballero reacts quickly to a hard-hit line drive and dives to his right for a great catch and the final out of the bottom of the 3rd inning
