“María Perez is a gamble. She is a very specific player and what we want from a pure midfielder. Although many people don’t understand it, she’s the closest thing to (Sergio) Busquets,” said Spain manager Jorge Vilda when he announced the final list of the 23 players who would go to the World Cup.
It was June 30 and Perez was at home with her brother. Like the rest of the players, she didn’t know whether she would be called up or not. So she kept an eye on the television to see if her name was on Vilda’s list.
“Midfielders: María Perez.”
Her name came up first. She and her brother started shouting. The phone rang. Her mother had also heard the list. As had many other relatives who would spend the day calling to congratulate her.
In discussing her selection, Vilda said “many people don’t understand” the Busquets comparison. The reason for that is because this past season she played for Barca B, in the second division. In fact, it was only at the beginning of June that she was given her first contract with the first team, having played only five games for them last season. Perez has gone in the same season from playing in the second division in a reserve team to making her Spanish national team debut at the Women’s World Cup.
That debut will live long in the memory, for her and Spain’s supporters, since it came as Spain beat Switzerland 5-1 to reach the quarter-finals, their best achievement at a Women’s World Cup. Laia Codina and Cata Coll — both starters — made their debuts that day, as did Perez, who came on to replace Teresa Abelleira in the 64th minute.
“I don’t think I’m aware of it yet and that I will be when time goes by,” she told The Athletic three days after the feat, wearing a smile that she never loses throughout the interview. “I’m very happy, I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life.”
Perez plays as a defensive pivot, although it wasn’t always like that. It was one of her first coaches at CF Damm, only a few years ago, who put her in that position for the first time when she saw her potential. Until then, she played as an attacking midfielder.
She is an elegant player, a smart reader of the game and has great ball handling. She has been compared to Patri Guijarro and Vilda made the comparison with Busquets.
“We are profiles of players who, being at Barca, have a very similar style,” she said. “I’m delighted to be compared to Busquets. I don’t really like comparisons but I hope to be a quarter as good as he is.”
The defensive pivot at Barca is a very important position in a model of play in which everything goes through the midfield. That player is the link between the offensive and defensive aspects of the team and provides balance. It is a role that requires very specific characteristics, and the same applies with the national team.
“To be a good defensive midfielder at Barca and in the Spanish national team you have to think fast,” she said. “You are training every day with the best players in the world. You have to think very quickly, be very clear about the next pass you’re going to make. And above all, you have to play fast. It’s a position where, as soon as you receive the ball, you already have people on you. It’s good to shape yourself well so that the pass you’re going to make afterwards is the best possible.”
She joined Barca two seasons ago to sign for their B team, and in June signed that first-team contract until 2025. Team-mates Guijarro and Keira Walsh are her references.
“For me Patri and Keira are the two best defensive midfielders in the world. I have always said so,” she said.
“They are two players who, being with them day by day, help me a lot to grow. Being so young they have always helped me. Since I arrived at Barca I’ve started to focus more on that very specific position of Barca’s defensive pivot. I have Patri and Keira as my role models.”
Her future is promising, but her present is already outstanding. At 21 she is in a World Cup quarter-final and can also look forward to more first-team games at club level during the coming season.
“I’m enjoying every moment,” she said. “From the free afternoons when we go for a coffee to the free time in the hotel. You have to enjoy it, it’s going very fast.
Spain produced their best display of the World Cup against Switzerland (Photo: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
“The confidence that both the players and the coaching staff give me is what gives life to young players.
“It’s what makes me think I can be there and that I can give the level. I’m very grateful for the confidence I’m feeling and I want to give it back in the best way possible.
“My more senior team-mates recommend that I play calmly and as I know how. To trust in myself and have a calmness that is difficult to have in a World Cup. In the end, they have to feel that I’m secure, confident and that I’m going to contribute everything I can to help the team.”
Spain have been through a whirlwind of emotions in recent weeks, from the drama of a heavy 4-0 defeat against Japan to euphoria against Switzerland. They have had to manage it mentally, with the help of a psychologist.
“The Japan game was a hard blow for all of us,” she admitted. “But sometimes we forget that we have rivals, and Japan seem to me to be one of the best teams in this World Cup. They are a very compact team and they made things very difficult for us.
“There is very little time to react and it’s true that the next day we were shattered. But you have to find a way to get back on your feet because in three days you have another game which is another final. We can’t go out with a bang when in three days you have another game which is another final that could put you in the semi-final.
“In a World Cup everyone wants to win. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing the U.S., Nigeria or the Netherlands. Every game is difficult. It’s the quarter-finals of a World Cup. Everyone can win. We all want to aspire to the top.”
To do so, they will have to beat the Netherlands — one of the competition’s most consistent teams — in the quarter-final. Right now, though, Spain feel they can do anything.
“The Netherlands have players with a difference who can win games for you. But so do we.”
(Top photo: Fiona Goodall – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
