Spain's Montse Tomé Shocked as Coaching Contract Not Renewed

Madrid, Aug 13 (AP) Montse Tomé, who recently led Spain's women's national soccer team to the European Championship final, expressed her surprise and disappointment after her contract as head coach was not renewed.

In an interview with Spanish radio Cadena Ser, Tomé reflected on the unpredictable nature of soccer. "Things happen in soccer that you don't expect," she remarked.

The announcement from the Spanish soccer federation on Monday revealed that Tomé's contract, set to expire at the end of the month, would not be extended. Former player Sonia Bermúdez is set to replace her. This decision follows Spain's loss to England in a penalty shootout during the Euro 2025 final, which took place two weeks ago.

Tomé stepped into her role after Spain's triumphant 2023 World Cup campaign and went on to secure the inaugural Women's Nations League title. Despite these achievements, she was taken aback by the federation's choice to part ways.

The federation's president, Rafael Louzán, had assured her that her position was secure if Spain performed well at 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," Tomé said. "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."

Despite the abrupt change, Tomé claimed she did not mind the absence of public farewell messages from her players on social media. "I received many messages from them," she noted. "I felt very respected by everyone. I'm not concerned about whether they posted them online or not."

The decision to replace Tomé, who was notable for being the first woman to coach Spain's senior women's team, was made by the federation's board members.

Previously an assistant to former coach Jorge Vilda during the World Cup, Tomé was promoted in the aftermath of the nonconsensual kiss incident involving former federation president Luis Rubiales and player Jenni Hermoso.

Tomé faced criticism for omitting Hermoso from recent selections but defended her choice as based on athletic performance. "I don't want to think it had anything to do with it," Tomé stated. "Since I was appointed, they allowed me to make decisions based on my sporting criteria. No one told me to bring in this player or another. I've never had to send the list of players to a president."

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