Mariona: Pure cinema
“Mariona likes playing with the ball and being able to attack.” That refers to the protagonist of this story. “A scriptwriter” that has etched unforgettable scenes into Spanish football history. She films scenes of success with the same touch of class with which she makes that ball roll — and be warned, this film hasn’t yet reached its climax. And that’s despite the fact that, in the feature-length film of her career, she has already won a World Cup, a Nations League, and 3 Champions Leagues…
“We’ve experienced so many beautiful things, but obviously the World Cup and, at club level, the Champions League in Bilbao, were some of the best moments of my life, with all the Barça fans who were there. Winning the Champions League against Barça was also something super special. I spent 10 years there, I shared a lot with them in the national team, it was a special but emotionally difficult match.”
Without a doubt, the director has scenes that have left their mark. Titles that move her and give her that special feeling just thinking about them: “What this great team was missing was a title to help develop that winning mentality, and it was a huge turning point that opened the door to winning more and feeling capable of then winning even more.” The World Cup was the first… “It still gives me goosebumps. You look back and I think it feels even better now than in the actual moment. Seeing the hug with Ale, who also had a tough time… Those moments, I think they’ll stay with us forever.”
Watching the images in slow motion, Mariona is clear about the reason for their success: “It was the confidence of knowing we were there to win the World Cup. Everyone knew what they had to do. There was confidence in everyone, and the perfect match came together.”
But not just in Australia and New Zealand, when the setting changed to Seville as the backdrop to the Nations League, —Mariona with a goal — Spain returned to that level of perfection: “We had been told that France struggled on the back foot, and that day, what we had trained for produced the goal. Scoring in a final and the team being able to lift a trophy is the most beautiful thing.”
And continuing the timeline of her successes, the most recent one. A change of country and league that gave her so much: “I think it has been a good season, that it has been worth it, for the experience and for how it helped me grow as a player, and then winning the biggest title you can win at club level was the cherry on top. I’m a more complete player than I was years ago, from the experience of playing many matches and covering in different positions.”
And even though we don’t like to give “spoilers”, here’s one of her hopes that she can include in the feature film of her life: “We have to get through to the Final Four, we’re the champions and we have to defend our trophy. And then the Euros. We’ve won a World Cup, we’ve won the Nations League, but we haven’t won the Euros, and this team now has a new goal right here in front of us, we’re going to go for it.”
To be continued…
More related news
