Jenni Hermoso, striker of the world champion national team, assured that the Spanish internationals had won “on and off the field” to guarantee “an inclusive sport and society” that protects “everyone” and that the team after its victory “changed the way many people view women’s football.

The Madrid striker, honored this morning at the Pachuca Hall of Fame ceremony, broke his silence for the first time since the situation experienced with Luis Rubiales, former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), after the World Cup final at the Australian Stadium. in Sydney and gave a very moving speech.

“On the night of August 20, 2023, when I lifted this Cup with my teammates, I felt my father’s hands when he took me to training, the smile of my mother who watched me play and the joy of my entire family sharing this dream. of a little footballer who wanted to become world champion,” began Jenni Hermoso.

She said she had played football all her life and that in this final, despite being 33 years old, she became a girl again and admitted that she continues to wonder what the Spanish players did tonight – there.

“We won a title, we toured the world and became one of the best teams in history; but deep down, we have achieved something much more human, more transcendental. We have not been champions at lifting a trophy that will stay in the display cases, receive a compensation bonus or appear on thousands of covers that wrinkle over time. “We were world champions because it was the only way we had left to be heard, respected and valued,” she said.

Jenni Hermoso also said that the Spanish team “changed the way many people see women’s football” and that she is “sure that millions of girls around the world have felt identified and protected by this group of courageous, committed and honest players, who in every step they took always thought of their future.

He added that since Sydney’s success, “a lot has happened”, they have sacrificed joy and “a bit of celebration”, but that, “without deserving it”, they have suffered “more than necessary in a historic moment.

“But I am clear that we have a huge responsibility towards the new generations. And to all those who don’t have a loudspeaker to make themselves heard, I want to tell them that this fight belongs to everyone. We win on and off the field to ensure an inclusive sport and society that protects us all. And I want to tell everyone that it’s over! “My name is Jenni Hermoso, I am a footballer and I am that girl who managed to become world champion,” she concluded her speech, strongly applauded by the audience.

Among the personalities that the International Hall of Fame received in 2024, stand out former local footballers Rafael Márquez, former Barcelona player and five-time World Cup winner between 2002 and 2018; and Cuauhtémoc Blanco, considered one of the best players on the Mexican senior team, as well as Argentina’s Ricardo La Volpe, who led Mexico at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

The international stars involved were the Italians Carlo Ancelotti, coach of Real Madrid, and Francesco Totti; the Spaniards Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernández, world champions in 2010, the Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o and the Brazilian Kaká, world champion in 2002.

German Uwe Seeler, who died last year, joined the team as the dean of international football; and among women, the door was opened to the Brazilian Pretinha.