When she was little in Seville, Olga Carmona tried everything. Anything but football. Her parents enrolled her in swimming lessons, tennis, and even flamenco dancing. But she was obsessed with football. She is now 23 years old and an idol for women all over the world.
Carmona had been introduced to the world of football after watching his brothers Fran and Tomás train, but was unable to participate. She has become a fan and has teamed up with her brothers to collect stickers of LaLiga players in her album. Finally, as she celebrated her seventh birthday, her parents relented and let her attend an educational session, much to the relief of the entire Spanish country 16 years later.
Watching her sink down the left flank on Sunday afternoon before firing an accurate shot past Mary Earps, it’s hard to believe she struggled to earn minutes in her youth team. The coach’s son was betting on his position and she couldn’t get any minutes on the field, even though she was running the educational field.
At the height of her career, almost 20,000 kilometres away, Olga Carmona joined a club of elite athletes to score the winning goal in a World Cup final. Even if he didn’t know it at the time, his effort would seal the crown of Spain. , and that would come before she gained tragic news.
Shortly after receiving her Finals MVP award, Olga learned that her father had passed away before the game started. His family had chosen to wait until the final whistle to announce the news, knowing the pressure he was already going through.
“Unbeknownst to me, I already had my star before the game started. I know you’ve given me the strength to achieve something unique. I know you’ve been watching me tonight and you’re proud of me. Rest in peace, Dad,” the soccer star later wrote in an emotional message on X on Monday morning local time.
In hindsight, a tragic irony for the most memorable moment of his career when he walked away celebrating, raising his utmost sense to display a message underneath his shirt. “Merchi,” read in pale letters, written in black ink by her own hand.
“A few days ago, the mother of one of my most productive friends passed away,” he said after the game. “Those were difficult days, being on the other side of the world, and the only way to be close to the family circle to dedicate the victory, or in this case, the goal, to them. “
In addition to having close ties to her friends, Carmona is incredibly close to her family. He shared a tattoo with his mother to mark the moment he left home to leave Sevilla and sign for Real Madrid in 2020.
A photo of her with her family appears on her shin guards, which she briefly thought would become before the tournament in Australia and New Zealand. “I’m a bit superstitious and they’ve brought me luck,” she explained. to justify your decision to stay with them.
In Sydney, Carmona was joined by her mother and one of her brothers, who flew together on Friday, and they didn’t expect to see their daughter and sister go down in the history books. In the midst of the excitement, maybe they would have even forgotten. his pre-tournament promise that the superstar would buy his mother a new car if Spain won the World Cup.
Carmona with his mother and brother in Sydney, celebrating and collecting the Andalusian flag to take it to celebrate.
The support of his family circle has been essential in his career. Carmona made her debut for Sevilla in the second division of Spanish women’s football at just 15 years old.
He has become the star of his hometown side, helping them progress in their first season and then laying the foundations for Sevilla to become a regular in Liga F. His role went from being an attacking left winger to a winger and, despite everything, a full-back.
In 2020, she moved from her home in Seville to the Spanish capital, Madrid. She would share an apartment with Tere Abelleira, one of her club and national team teammates who shared Sunday’s victory with her.
Abelleira is only six months older than her and had a similar experience, leaving the other side of Spain, the northwestern town of Pontevedra, at the same time as Carmona. “I made it clear from the beginning that I wanted to live with Someone. You don’t know how you can adapt and come home without seeing anyone, I couldn’t believe that at the time. He helped me a lot, I matured as a footballer and as a person,” Carmona told Diario AS.
The move from Seville to Madrid came just after Spain ended severe Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. Restrictions remained in place, adding curfews and restrictions, making it even more complicated to adjust to life with a new team in a new city.
“There were too many changes and they came very quickly. Suddenly, other people were almost asking me on the street to take pictures or ask me for autographs, and above all I felt the tension because at Real Madrid we only play to win,” Carmona told El País before traveling for the World Cup.
“I needed a team to be informed on how to deal with this type of situation. It’s about being better at everything, adding as a person, and the truth is that it helped me a lot,” he continued. Speaking further about his mental support, he told Diario AS: “Your leg may work, but if your head doesn’t work. . . it’s useless. “
Three years later, he’s helped. Carmona is third on Real Madrid’s all-time appearances list and has been captain of the club and country. Rather than simply adapting to the strain of a club the size of Real Madrid, it has in fact thrived.
It hasn’t all been easy for Carmona, even in Australia and New Zealand. He started all three of Spain’s organisational games, but then found himself on the bench after a thrashing at the hands of Japan. That 4-0 defeat, now etched in the memory, was a turning point.
This beating couldn’t have come at a worse time. The attack saw Carmona don the Spain captain’s armband for the first time as coach Jorge Vilda continued to replace his team selection.
What was meant to be an unforgettable experience, becoming captain of her country in a World Cup, ended up being the first player to retire because of her coach in the midst of a humiliating defeat. For the next match, the circular of 16 opposed Switzerland, replaced through Ona Batlle.
When Carmona was called up for the semi-final against Sweden, she took her chance with both hands. It was she who became the hero with a hard shot into the back of the net in the 89th minute to send her team to first. -Sometime the final of the Women’s World Cup.
Carmona scored a penalty against Barcelona at the Spotify Camp Nou in 2022, in front of more than 70,000 spectators.
Carmona is no stranger to such a load of expectations. She named one of Real Madrid’s 3 captains just two years after joining the club and despite being one of the youngest players in the first team.
There is no greater demonstration of her self-confidence and courage than the Champions League fixtures against Barcelona in 2021/22. With Real Madrid in his first season in European football after its creation in 2019, Carmona scored in the first leg of this Clasico at the Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano, which ended in a 3-1 defeat.
In the second leg, in front of more than 70,000 fans at the Spotify Camp Nou, it was Carmona who in the 16th minute intervened to take a penalty that would give his team a chance. .
Anyone who knows her strength of character will have been surprised to see her lead her country and score the winning goal in a World Cup final.
Carmona and his teammates will land in Madrid tonight to attend a special birthday party for the champions. With a capacity of up to 20,000 spectators in the open-air venue, the same one used by the men’s team after their victory in 2010, the atmosphere is sure to be celebratory.
For Olga it will be an emotional evening. As she left the stadium on Sunday night, she told reporters of her “excitement” at the idea of “celebrating our victory with the whole country”, already aware of the tragic news of which the media that awaited her were not yet aware.
After the celebrations and the intensity of those emotions, the service will resume. The season is moving fast for Real Madrid, where Carmona
But unlike superstars who have surnames for winning the World Cup in the past, football is rarely very fair to Olga Carmona. He’s about to finish a bachelor’s degree in physical activity and sports science, he’s reading in Madrid, and he’s taking classes in the afternoon. categories to match your educational program with your education. “I’m proud to be able to combine football with my studies,” she told El País, “and anyway, if I didn’t do anything, I’d be bored in the afternoon. “”.
After the last few days she has, even Olga Carmona may forgive herself an afternoon off this week. From the euphoria of becoming a world champion to the tragedy of wasting a joy, she became an icon overnight for Spain and the world.