“We had, like this time, around five weeks to prepare. And that, barring one player in Europe, no one was a professional. They would train from 5am to 7am, eat something fast and go to work,” said Valverde.
With day jobs to hold, such a routine would be familiar to Indian women footballers, barring Manisha Kalyan and Aveka Singh professionals in Peru and Denmark respectively. If India needed to win against a higher-ranked Thailand to make the finals that begin on March 1, Costa Rica’s most important match was their opener, against Mexico. They won 1-0.
Though the World Cup berth was sealed after beating Trinidad and Tobago via penalty-kicks, “it was because we could win against a really good team like Mexico that history changed for female soccer in Costa Rica,” Valverde told HT on Thursday.
The possibility of doing that, making history, in another continent again drew her out of the Americas for the first time and to Turkey where she has joined the India squad’s staff as a coach.
The assignment could look unusual in a CV that has two World Cup finals (2015 and 2023) and head coach at CF Monterrey Femenil in Mexico who won the Apertura or half season, a championship in its own right, in a league where World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso and French stars Eugenie le Sommer and Amandine Henry play.
Valverde sees it differently. Soccer puts some moments in your way, she said. It’s been that way since she was forced to take charge at 23, “because our head coach left without saying anything.” There are many things attractive here, Valverde said of her contract that is till the finals with the possibility of a conversation after that.
“India made history and qualified. It is the kind of thing that can change soccer, make the league a little longer maybe. And that, for me, has a really good value. I don’t know what the result will be but we have the ingredients to make a perfect recipe. I just hope the team that really wants to…In Spanish, we say we like to eat the world.”
This is the first time Valverde has joined a team that already has coaches: Crispin Chhetri – Professor Chris, in her words – and Priya PV. Partners, she said. “I needed people who knew the players well. They have a lot of experience and did a really great job last July (helping India qualify for the finals).”
That said, there is no ambiguity in who’s boss. “I am the face of this, the leader who listens to everyone but makes the decisions.”
The thing with a team of coaches is that there will be more than one opinion. Chhetri had told HT that India could overcome technical and tactical deficiencies, especially against Vietnam and Chinese Taipei, by working on fitness and set-plays; Valverde prefers a different approach.
“There must be a reason for him saying that,” she said, before adding: “I like teams to be aggressive while attacking and defending. We need to do a perfect game in the defensive way. We have to be better in the physical part. Absolutely. And if we are better in the physical part, we’re going to run. If we run, we’re going to recover the ball. And if we have the ball, we can go forward. Set-pieces are important but I think we can do better in other parts too.”
The tournament is a step away from the World Cup. India need to be among the top eight in the 12-team competition to be in contention for Brazil next year. Teams can get over-excited or intimidated, especially if they have been scratched from the last edition because of Covid-19 and have not been among the elite since 2003.
“Before the tournament, I feel like this in my stomach,” Valverde said, rubbing her fingers in the video call to convey the mix of tension and anticipation. “I live this life because I love this. It’s impossible to be relaxed. But we have to stay focused. These tournaments are really fast: one, two, three matches in a week. And you are in or out,” she said.
India open against Vietnam on March 4, play Japan three days later and end the group league against Chinese Taipei on March 10.
Chhetri has spoken of the players’ need to believe they would make it to Brazil. Valverde said she wants them to focus on every day routines instead. “If we control today’s situations, we’re going to be closer to have success.”
