Having won the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in Spain’s history less than a month prior, the federation has been forced to make a coaching change.
Jorge Vilda, who led the Spanish women to the World Cup title and had been in charge for eight years, was sacked as head coach in early September as part of the federation’s overhaul in the wake of the Luis Rubiales scandal. In Vilda’s place, the Spanish football federation (RFEF) appointed assistant Montse Tome as his successor.
Tome’s hire is a historic one, making her the first female head coach in Spanish women’s football history, but questions remain over how the federation will proceed into the coming four-year cycle.
With Tome set to debut as Spain head coach against No. 1-ranked Sweden on September 22 in the UEFA Nations League, The Sporting News brings you a full breakdown of the new boss.
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๐จ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ | La RFEF nombra a @montse_tome nueva seleccionadora nacional femenina.
La asturiana serรก la primera mujer en ostentar el cargo y se estrenarรก en septiembre en la #NationsLeague ante Suecia y Suiza.
โน๏ธ https://t.co/fAlqVyWwvD #JugarLucharYGanar pic.twitter.com/vG4BtbGjAP
โ RFEF (@rfef) September 5, 2023
Who is Spain women’s coach Montse Tome?
On September 5, the RFEF appointed Montse Tome to replace Jorge Vilda as women’s national team coach.
Tome’s appointment makes her the first female head coach of the Spain women’s national team ever. She is the fourth head coach in Spain women’s national team history, following up Teodoro Nieto (1981-1988), Ignacio Quereda (1988-2015), and Vilda (2015-2023).
The 41-year-old Tome, whose full first name is Montserrat but often shortened to “Montse,” enjoyed an 11-year playing career which featured most prominently a two-year stint at Barcelona from 2010-2012 and four caps for the Spain national team.
After retiring in 2013, Tome moved to coaching, where she joined the Spain national team setup in 2018 as an assistant. She had been an assistant with Spain her entire coaching career until her recent head coaching appointment.
MORE: Who is Luis Rubiales?
Why was Jorge Vilda fired as Spain women’s national team coach?
While the RFEF acquiesced to a reported desire from the players to appoint a female head coach, the elevation of Tome from assistant to head coach reportedly did not leave the players fully satisfied, and there has been plenty of controversy around the latest selection for this UEFA Nations League match.
The ongoing situation between the La Roja squad and Tome/the Spanish Football Federation appears strained given the strong feeling of unease surrounding the handling of the Luis Rubiales situation.
All 11 of Vilda’s backroom colleagues had already resigned in protest over the ongoing crisis surrounding Rubiales โ that came after a group of 81 players boycotted the national team after the then Spanish FA boss kissed forward Jenni Jennifer Hermoso following last month’s final.
Vilda came under fire for applauding Rubiales’ extraordinary comments during a press conference in which the RFEF president repeatedly refused to resign and hit out at “fake feminists”.
Some players have refused to be called up until the situation ends, while others begrudgingly accepted their inclusion in the latest squad.
Fifteen members of the World Cup winning squad last month have been included in Tome’s first squad selection.
