The death of Olga Carmona’s father occurred the day before the game, but the Sevillian received the sad news after becoming the heroine of Spain in Sydney, after having won the World Cup final.
The player herself reacted to the news on social networks by sharing a heartfelt message on Twitter in which she refers for the first time to the death of her father. “And I unknowingly had my Star before the game started. I know that you have given me the strength to achieve something unique. I know that you have been watching me tonight and that you are proud of me. Rest in peace, dad.” A few words that she has accompanied by a photograph in which she appears giving a kiss to the medal that she received after winning the match in which she was decisive.
And without knowing it, I had my Star before the game started. I know that you have given me the strength to achieve something unique. I know that you have been watching me tonight and that you are proud of me. Rest in peace dad ??????????? pic.twitter.com/Uby0mteZQ3
— Olga Carmona (@7olgacarmona) August 20, 2023
Both the player’s mother and brothers were flying to Australia when they learned of the death of the father, who had been ill for a year. At the time of takeoff they did not know that they would never see him again. They made the decision to move to the antipodes to be with Olga despite the delicate state of Olga’s father.
That is why they accompanied her from the beginning, during the group phrase, and then they returned to Spain. The player’s psychologist, Mari?a Aguirre, also flew. They did not want to give her the news before so that she would not affect him emotionally in the face of the final. Perhaps if she had known, Olga herself would not have been able to perform the same. Let’s remember that she ended up being decisive.
Relatives and very close friends, however, watched the game knowing the truth and kept their emotions as best they could, experiencing what happened as one of the most bittersweet days of their lives. The mother transmitted it to the Federation after the match against England and the footballer was told after a few hours. Only when Olga found out did the RFEF make it public.
Olga scored in the semifinals the goal that gave the pass to the final was a starter in the match. She had prepared a surprise for her mother if she scored: to dedicate the goal to the mother of a close friend, named Merchi, who had also passed away this week.
soccer brothers
Olga grew up in the Sevilla Este neighborhood. She has two brothers, one eleven months older and the other a twin, both are soccer players. Fran is a central defender at CD Teruel and Tomás, a goalkeeper at UD Tomares. She was watching her brothers play soccer as she became fond of it and at the age of seven she was already in the Sevilla youth academy. When she was little, she preferred swimming and dancing (she gave flamenco classes).
Until she was 20 years old, they did not call her from her current club, Real Madrid, who signed her in the season (2020/2021).
But that also had a bittersweet taste because Olga had to live in Madrid and leave Seville, which forced her to move away from her mother, with whom she is very close. It is enough to see Olga hug her mother and kiss the tattoo on her right wrist that she kisses when she scores a goal and which is exactly the same as another one that her mother wears.
Olga’s goal in the final was dedicated to Merchi (with a heart on the ‘i’). She was the mother of María Benjumea, a friend of the Andalusian team, who also died suddenly this week. She couldn’t dedicate it to her father because she didn’t know.
Olga already knows the taste of triumph. She was the U19 European champion (2018) and played in the Champions League but she never thought of football as a way of life. She is a student of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences and she only has her final degree project left to graduate. She has commented that she may continue preparing and study nutrition or physiotherapy later.
August 20 will remain engraved in the memory of many Spaniards when the victory in the final of the Women’s Soccer World Cup takes place, but Olga Carmona will not remember this Sunday for having made “Spanish soccer history” only but for the hard shock of learning of his father’s death. Rest in peace.