The children's dental waitlist leaves surgeons frustrated, strong winds and thunderstorms roll in across the North Island and quiz night attendees left disgusted over a group’s KKK costumes. Video / NZ Herald / NIWA
La Roja’s 1-0 final win over England’s Lionesses, their first World Cup win, is being celebrated by Spaniards at home and abroad - and in New Zealand’s littleIberia, Palmerston North.
While the windswept rural hub may not appear at first glance to have much in common with the sun-kissed nation it hosted during the World Cup, the relationship appears to be strong - despite the Spaniards reportedly bailing on the city due to debilitating boredom.
The team, which was based at Massey University, left the city early after reports “boredom set in among the players and their families”.
A story from ESPN claimed that, while team officials did stress they enjoyed their stay there and were made to feel at home, “the lack of things to do in the area has taken its toll.”
Palmerston North, forever a piece of Spain. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“Families, including some players’ children, are staying with the squad as part of a pre-tournament agreement with the Spanish Football Federation but, along with the players, have found there is little to do, especially in the evenings,” ESPN reported.
“What an incredible match last night,” the Palmerston North City Council wrote on social media this morning.
“All that training in Palmy at the fab Massey University facilities must have been the trick eh,” they added.
Buoyed by the win, the council also said it was “Palmy’s greatest ever sporting victory” and predicted other national sports teams would make a beeline for the city.
When one local suggested the Spanish should return to thank Palmy for its contribution, the council could not help but turn up the hyperbole.
“I’m sure they’ve already booked another trip. No one can stay away from Palmydise for very long.”
Another resident said that Palmerston North’s lack of distraction was key. “We’re not boring... we were focused”.
Not one to miss an opportunity, the council suggested it might borrow the slogan for its next tourism campaign.
When it was suggested that the Spanish team’s damning verdict on the city had got under the skin of locals, the council responded: “It was a short-lived relationship but the break up is still raw”.
How Spain went from turmoil to World Cup winners
At the final whistle in Sydney the Spanish players piled on each other in front of their goal. They were still dancing on the field until the trophy presentations, where they kissed the trophy and raised their arms triumphantly as golden glitter fell from above.
“We’ve suffered a lot throughout the past 12 months but I think everything has a reason to be. This has made us a stronger team,” winning goalscorer Olga Carmona said. “And it’s really incredible. I don’t know just why Spain is the world champions, but I think that we deserved it.”
Spain’s victory comes despite a near-mutiny by players last year. Fifteen players said they were stepping away from the national team for their mental health while also calling for a more professional environment.
Three of those players — Ona Batlle, Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey — reconciled with the federation and were at the World Cup.
Spain's Olga Carmona celebrates after the Women's World Cup final between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Photo / AP
The victory was also a bit of redemption for La Roja, which fell to England 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the European Championship last year. England went on to win the Euros on home soil.
“I think all of us, we felt that this team had something special,” Carmona said. “I believe that we’ve shown this on the field, we’ve shown this in the group stage, in the knockout stage. We’ve been fighting until the end. We never stopped.
“Last year was different, but football gives you second chances What better chance than in a World Cup final and to be able to call ourselves world champion.”
Spain grew over the course of the tournament. After a 4-0 loss to Japan in the group stage, Spain replaced Misa Rodriguez with Cata Coll in goal. La Roja rebounded quickly by trouncing Switzerland 5-1 to kick off the knockout round and built from there.
“When we found out that we had England in the final, we analyzed them and saw how they played,” Bonmati said. “We prepared it well, we came out confident of what we were doing, of our game, of our fight, of our dedication.”
