“You will leave him and you will have nothing left. You are alone” | Relief

Sonia Vesga (November 30, 1980, Briviesca, Burgos) laughs when asked if sports brands paid attention to female football players in her time. “How were you going to be a brand image at that level if people didn’t like you? Women were supposed to be in the kitchen. We received all kinds of insults, refusals day after day,” he describes. It’s no surprise that Nike’s sponsorship of Alexia Putellas or Salma Paralluelo sounds Chinese, completely unknown to the world.

Sonia Vesga played for Atlético Madrid, won three championships with Rayo Vallecano, the Copa del Reina, played in the Champions League in Vallecas and wore the national team jersey. He was paid to play football, but never “enough.” Now he works at a tire factory. “I care about the plastics that are in cars, like the seats. Look, for example, we produce seats for city cars in Madrid here in my factory.” His reality and what he experienced during his career as a footballer contrasts with the “privileges” many of his retired male colleagues enjoyed. “You go out and you have nothing. Let’s see if you have your studies and everything, and if not, then you have nothing. They don’t offer you anything, you don’t have a position like in men’s football, which they have already given you,” he reproaches. Evidence that turned the fact of betting that she is a (female) footballer into a real act of faith.

The football in which Sonia Vesga played bears little resemblance to today’s. The former Atletico Madrid and Rayo Vallecano footballer has difficulty remembering that time. “Pfft, this is difficult. I always had to combine it with work. You worked in the mornings. During the day you trained,” he recalls. On July 15, 2014, Sonia Burgos, as she likes to be called, hung up her boots. Through their memories, Relevo and the left-back paint a picture of women’s football at that time.

What’s the most amazing thing that could happen to a football player during a game?

Craziest thing? At the brand level… Unthinkable! The craziest thing that can happen to you is that you will be called up from the national team… (laughs).

What do these numbers look like to you? Did Rayo Vallecano or Atlético Madrid pay for you?

What happened, they didn’t pay you. On the contrary, at one time I had to pay to play football. You had to pay in the sense that you had to pay for kits, for example. But pay for me? Never. You signed up and, if thanks to this you managed to get the team to call you, then you went and they gave you a job – you worked or studied – and an apartment. It was milk. He accepted her again.

How did Atlético Madrid find the Rayo Burgales player?

I have always been here in Burgos since the beginning of my career. We played in Nacional, which used to be Super League, and we played Athletic often, and the coach liked it and wanted to sign me. But of course I had nothing to do with the Basque Country or anything, so that was impossible.

In short, Athletic, Iñigo Juaristi (coach) has always supported me and I would have loved it. It was Athletic, playing in Bilbao was a dream, the field, the players, the owner. But this could not be done. So, I remember that my signing with Atlético was because the club’s sporting director was a teammate or friend, I don’t remember, of Inigo. I remember when they got promoted to the First Division, this boy contacted him to see what players he could recommend signing and told him about me. This guy called me, I went to get tested, and they signed me up. I was offered a job and an apartment.

What kind of work was this?

Lola Romero, president of the Women’s Atleti, owned a bakery. I was there with two other girls from Extremadura and we worked in a bakery. We worked there in the morning. In the afternoon we went to train in Cerro del Espino.

And then Rayo Vallecano arrived… They didn’t pay you there either?

Yes, well, we didn’t take anything, we were going, so to speak. They offered me an apartment there. They offered us this and service, oh well. But paying us as such is not the case. I had to look for a job because of course I couldn’t live with it.

That Rayo Vallecano marked an era in Spanish women’s football. “In my time, we footballers were tougher, although they don’t say it, more physical. When I arrived at Rayo, I thought: “This is not for me…” And I was a physical aunt. I don’t think they take people from Madrid or Barça to run through the mountains or climb the city hills…” he laughs. At that time, the composition of the best team in Spain was far from what it is today. A circumstance that marks the evolution of women’s football. “Let’s see… coach, assistant, physical teacher and a little more. There will be four or five of them. At most six! (…) Just enough to live”– says Sonya. Teresa Rivero enters the conversation.

The “bosis” of the women’s district of Rayo Vallecano was Teresa Rivero…

Wow, it was a cane. Seriously, as a president, as a person… I lived there with her, she is a great person. He was great with us. He gave us everything he could. Feminine Ray, thanks to her, was able to be where she was, she supported us in everything. Thanks to her, there was a women’s department. The rest had practically no faith in us. It was very difficult to have someone support you like that… I mean the men’s teams, right? For a men’s team, having a women’s team was very difficult. And there were four of them, there were no more. I think Rayo lost a lot when he left. At least female…

Can you tell me a joke…

When we won the League or the Cup, I don’t remember, he invited the whole team to his home in Somosaguas. Mind you, he took us to his house to ask Ruiz Mateos for bonuses (laughs). We didn’t know how to do it, and he told us: “Now I will help you.” Well, we were with her at her house, she invited the whole team there to be with her whole family. So, as you can see, not everyone welcomes you into their home, opens the doors of their home to you, much less ask Ruiz Mateos to give us a bonus for winning.

Did you even ask for this?

Yes of course.

Did he give it to you?

OK it’s all over Now. It cost us, it cost us, but it must have given something. Yes, it gave us, I don’t know how much, but it gave us something, yes, yes. The truth is that if. They behaved well.

Atletico Madrid arrived before Rayo Vallecano. However, his time with the red and white team ended in more pain than glory. “It was quite difficult for me to adapt. I didn’t do as well as Maria Vargas and Lola Romero expected, and they decided not to renew me. And they gave me a contract for a year, and then, if it worked out, they extended it. “, he recalls. By the way: at that time the players did not sign any contract; it was the federal record that connected them with the club. “I asked them (Maria Vargas and Lola Romero) to please me, yes, so that I understood that it was not the best year, but so that they would extend me. They told me no, and I said, well, okay, each of them. for free. It was very bittersweet because I didn’t give 100% on this issue because I knew that I had so much more to give, that I could prove it, and that I would be allowed to prove it. And they decided not to do it. “, he complains.

If the signing of Sonia Vesga at Atlético Madrid was rigged because of the friendship of the red and white club with Inigo Juaristi, the former coach of Atlético Madridhis inclusion in Rayo was a celebration. “Eva (the legendary Ponferrada player) played for Rayo. She played with me in Burgos, in Nuestra Señora del Belen, and we got along very well. One day on a holiday, when I was about to come to say goodbye to Madrid, I met her. I told her that I was leaving, that I was not playing, and so on. He told me not to worry, that he was going to talk to his coaches, saying that I just thought I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t say goodbye to football like that, and I said yes,” he recalls.

Sonia reached her football peak in Rayo Vallecano. And this helped him do the “craziest thing” at that time: you were called up by the Spanish national team.

How was the selection process?

As for the money, we walked around for three or four days, and then they gave us an envelope with money. I remember that I was working at that time. I don’t know what they gave us, but it was pennies. I don’t know, if I tell you 10 euros, what will I know. I don’t remember. What I remember is that I lost money going there. I lost days or was forced to ask permission to go. The truth about my job is that they were great and gave me a lot of opportunities. But I would join the national team… If it were your duty.

I imagine that at this time you were invited to play games and nothing else…

Yes of course. We only saw each other during games. Imagine, today, for example, is Monday, and you have a game on Sunday because you are called up on Wednesday. Before the big game, you didn’t have any games or anything like that. Maybe in the same concentration they organized something for you or it was just training. I think the longest I was in the national team was 10 days. I wasn’t there anymore, and that’s because the game coincided with you outside…

What material did you have at your disposal?

Look, the T-shirts they gave us were boys’ or other teams’ T-shirts. Because we didn’t take them with us or anything like that. We used them and had to return them to wash and reuse. I think they came from kids or bought a set or two or something like that. And they used them as many times as they could. Well, if you wanted a T-shirt… you’d have a hard time. Don’t keep them. Let’s see, if you asked permission… And if not, then you would have a hard time.

Am I missing you?

Yes, I didn’t, because you were already warned. “Hey, you can’t change shirts unless you ask permission and I won’t give it.” I remember one time we were playing in Zamora against England and Sandra Vilanova wanted Kelly Smith’s England jersey, which was the best at the time. He asked Kereda for permission and struggled a lot until he received it. And only she could change it. What I remember is the rally, where they opened the door to the room, and there was a bunch of old clothes, and they gave them to us… Everything was there.

You were taught by Ignacio Quereda.

He was a man from the past, a coach from the past, a macho man who was there the way he was because he didn’t care about women’s football, that’s understandable. So I was there to suck off the boat, that much is clear.

As for me, the truth is that he did not go overboard with any comments or lack of respect, but I have experienced this through my teammates or from the lower categories. I remember sometimes we coincided with them at rallies, and it turned out completely crazy. He called them fat or useless. And now he says: “My God, how could we allow this to happen for so long. But of course it touches you in a new way. The problem was that if you did something, they wouldn’t call you back. Nobody listened to you, you didn’t have a loudspeaker at all because you complained, and then you saw Veronica Boquete and company. And they were able to advance a little because they went to the World Championships. But before you could complain, they said: “Oh, you’re starting a war, you won’t come back to the national team.” In the end, you don’t feel anyone’s support, and in the end you remain silent. It’s a pity. But yes, that’s what life is like after all.

How much money have you made in your life playing football?

A little. In my time, from the time I started until I retired, let’s see, I won. But this is not enough to retire. No, I need to keep working. So did I make money? Yes, it is quite? Well, not enough.