Montse Tome was expecting to keep her job as the coach of Spain`s women`s national team after leading it to the European Championship final last month. But despite helping the side seal the final berth, she doesn`t know why her contract was not extended.
“Things happen in soccer that you don`t expect,” Tome said in an interview with a Spanish radio channel.
The country`s soccer federation had announced that it is not going to extend her contract and she will be replaced by former player Sonia Bermudez. The official body`s announcement came after Spain suffered a loss in the Euro 2025 final against England in a penalty shootout.
After Spain won the 2023 World Cup, Tome was appointed to the role. Later, she led the side to the title of the inaugural Women`s Nations League last year.
The coach also expressed disappointment with the official body`s President, Rafael Louzan, who had earlier informed her that she would be in charge of the role if the side performs well in the Euro 2025.
“He has always shown a lot of confidence in me, but I`m a little disappointed about how everything was handled. He didn`t keep his word about the continuity. I felt that he was happy with my work,” she said.
The Oviedo-born former football player then said even if the board wanted to go in a new direction, it had given an unclear message to her.
“It was hard to understand everything that happened since the final. It`s understandable that the federation wants to go into a new direction, but that message wasn`t really clear for me. They had given me a different impression,” said the 43-year-old.
Following the announcement, Montse Tome said she felt very respected after receiving goodbye messages from the players.
“I received many messages from them. I felt very respected by everyone. I`m not concerned about whether they posted them online or not,” she said.
The decision to replace Tome, the first woman to coach the senior women`s team in Spain, was made by the federation`s board members. She had been criticised by some for not including Jenni Hermoso in recent call-ups, but she always maintained it was a decision based on sporting performances.
(With AP Inputs)
