A vegetable in the men’s futsal league

The professionalization of women’s futsal in Spain took place in 1994 when the First Division was created by the National Futsal Committee of the National Football Federation. Competitions at a professional level have a very short route – the Iberian Cup born in 1998 and the European Championship, in 2016–, which has as a consequence the anecdotal visibility of the female figures of this sport in the collective imagination.

However, in Hortaleza we have one of the forerunners of women’s futsal in Spain and, specifically, in the Community of Madrid. She is Monica Werner Rodil born in 1981 in Madrid and a resident of the neighborhood of Santa Maria Park. From a very young age, she already had a soccer ball between her feet, her family instilled this sport in her almost when she was a baby, especially her brother Juan Ignacio, important figure for men’s futsal: 11 caps, a European Cup and a Spanish Cup behind him.

For Monica, futsal has meant everything throughout her life. “Team sport gives you values ​​that you can’t find in any other environment.”

FIRST DIVISION

When she was 12 years old, she entered her first futsal team in a City Hall women’s league. At the age of 14, while she was playing in the Aldebarán, Monica Werner debuted with the Madrid Futsal Selection, where she was summoned until she was 21 years old. At that time, women’s futsal was very little consolidated in Spain and there were not even official championships at the national level. Even so, Mónica confesses that it was an immense pride and joy for her to have been chosen “among the best” in Madrid. “Luckily, now there are indeed Spanish Championships at all levels, it has been evolving”.

In 2005 and after overcoming a knee injury that kept the vegetable player away from the track for several years, she made the leap to high-level competition and signed for the Majadahonda. To play in First division It was a totally new experience for Monica, since soccer was above all a way to have fun and she never dreamed of becoming a “professional”. A term that she puts in quotation marks, since she affirms that First Division teams where their players receive enough salary to be able to live on it are anecdotal, which prevents them from fully dedicating themselves to their soccer career.

A los 14 años, Mónica Werner debutó con la Selección Madrileña de Fútbol Sala, donde estuvo convocada hasta los 21 años

From then on, Mónica Werner went through numerous Madrid teams of different categories. They all allowed her to grow as a footballer, although she keeps a special memory of the Union Three Cantos and the Manila Star. After recovering from his first injury and returning to the track, a second six-year break due to a traffic accident once again jeopardized his continuity in the competition.

Finally in 2019, Mónica signed again for a First Division team, the CD Leganes FS and from there it goes to VP Soto del Real, where she finished the season as one of the top scorers in her group. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, and Soto del Real was for Mónica the last team in which she has played at a competitive level.

A DREAM FULFILLED

Currently, Mónica Werner plays in the Barajas senior men’s team Atlanta-The Appetizer, becoming the first woman accepted in a men’s team of a senior league in the Community of Madrid. A unique event, as there are few similar cases, and none of futsal.

In this case, after submitting an application to the Barajas Municipal Board To ask for Monica’s admission to the historic Atlanta-El Aperitivo senior men’s futsal team, an investigation process of similar events was carried out to find out what the requirements had been to make the decision.

“Fue una alegría inmensa, no solo por el hecho de ser la primera mujer, sino por poder jugar con mis amigos de toda la vida en una competición”

Finally, after a month, the Municipal Board approved Monica’s entry as one more player on the men’s team, which immediately became a mixed team. “It was an immense joy, not only for the fact that she was the first woman, but also for being able to play with my lifelong friends in a competition and not just in pachangas or friendly matches.” A news that was also a great surprise, since it was her teammates who submitted her request without her knowledge.

It is a modest step, but equally important, for futsal in the Community of Madrid and also at a national level, since it sets a precedent for other women who wish to join men’s teams in both futsal and other sports. .

THE ATLANTA FS

The Atlanta-The Appetizer is the continuation of a historic team, the first futsal team in the district of Hortaleza, which emerged in 1989 originally as the Atlanta FS. They had a great success in the championship of Madrid Futsal Federation League and, in 1995, it achieved promotion to the First National Division B.

Several of the then professional players are still in the senior league with the Atlanta-El Aperitivo, enjoying his passion 27 years later, now also with Mónica Werner, who affirms that she has received a very good reception both from her teammates and from the rival teams. “At first I was very nervous because I didn’t know what I was going to find, you play with people who can weigh 20 kilos more than you.”

But Monica is sure that, for sports, teamwork between men and women can bring great benefits: “Logically, there is a great physical difference, but it can be replaced with other skills and abilities. You have to open your mind!”

For this reason, he thinks it is essential to give greater visibility to women’s sports, “we need investment to create teams, organize competitions, carry out campaigns to bring this sport closer to girls and adolescents.”