MADRID, 3 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The footballer of the Spanish team Irene Paredes reiterated this Monday that they are no longer “the ‘Cinderella’ of anything”, a “message” that they already sent “to the rest of the world” a “long time” ago, for which she assured that they are ” prepared” and are “capable of winning over anyone”, away from the “taboos” and “fears” that surrounded them in the past.
“As the years have gone by, the psychological barrier (against superior teams) has disappeared, I don’t know if it was in the last World Cup, I think that perhaps it was before, as we have been measuring ourselves against ‘top’ teams and we have have been winning or standing up to them face to face. Those taboos have fallen, those fears that existed before, but it also went a bit because of how we were prepared,” said the central defender at the Media Day of the selection held at the Ciudad del Fútbol in The Rozas.
Paredes recognized that it was “logical” to have “a certain respect” in the past towards ‘top’ teams, when they were “non-professional players, in a non-professional environment and competing with players who were, in the end, yes”. “Now we are just as prepared, even better. We know we can win them, we are capable, sure, of beating anyone,” he argued about Spain’s potential.
“Besides, I think we have already shown it. It is true that it can be something sporadic,” he commented on the historic victory (2-0) over the United States in October last year. “We are at the same level as ‘top’ players, we have to arrive and prove it. Spain also has ‘top’ players. Apart from having names, individual awards, then we show it on the field. We trust ourselves, we focus on performing on the field. playing field,” he added.
And to achieve this improvement “it helps” to play “great games” and “above all” to win the Champions League. “It is no longer a coincidence, it is something feasible and that has been repeated. So the message that you send, not only to the rest of the colleagues, but to the rest of the world, is that we are no longer the ‘Cinderella’ of anything, it has been a long time since we are not, we are capable, we are preparing for it”, asserted one of the team’s captains with confidence, although she does not think about whether she will lift the trophy if she wins.
“There are captains in front of me, so if it happens, they would pick it up, but I don’t want to think about that. If you focus there, there are many possibilities that it will be lost. We focus on preparing well, on playing well, in reaching the final. In arriving in the best physical and mental shape for the first game and from there thinking only about the game that we have ahead of us”, he pointed out.
For Paredes, the “favourites” to win the World Cup title in Australia and New Zealand, which starts on July 20, are the “United States, Sweden, the Netherlands, France”, among others. “But in the end, favoritism is worth it to you, it doesn’t help the players of each team,” explained the defense, who is “fine, recovering physical form” and “good feelings.” “Now I’m fine, I think I’m still a strong player, with experience, with a good style,” she concluded.