Sandra Golpe: from her internship in the press to presenter of LaLiga on DAZN and her vision of Spanish football

You came to Madrid to study journalism and... Have you achieved it?

I think so. If you ask 15-year-old Sandra what she would like to work on, she would tell you: 'I would love to present, be on the field, interview the coaches.' And, well, that's what I do. I was clear that I wanted to come to Madrid for the opportunities and, surely, people from other smaller cities feel a little reflected. I was also very clear that, although university is important, being in the working world gives you even greater learning. So I learned in the newsrooms, on the street, doing guard duty, going to press conferences.... I jumped from one internship to another: I started in the press, then in radio, then in television, until today.

Your rise to fame came with the Chiringuito de Jugones, right?

Yes. It's been 5 years, but they still say to me on the street: 'Sandra, from the Chiringuito.' For me it is a pride, because it is a program with a brutal audience, not only in Spain, but worldwide. I arrived fresh from university and learned how to edit videos, do reports and work in front of the camera in a daily program of almost three hours, which is a lot of live time. Above all, I had the opportunity to work with a presenter and director like Josep Pedrerol, who gives opportunities, something difficult for young people today. In the end, it's a lot of years, almost six, and that leaves its mark.

Signs in 2022 for DAZN as a presenter and on-field reporter for LaLiga. Does it cost more as a woman?

I haven't had the feeling of fighting three times as hard as my teammates, but I have had the feeling of showing a little more. They still ask me: 'But do you like football?' I don't think that a colleague of mine who presents a program and who is on the field will be asked if he likes football. They ask me those questions, without malice, but do you like it? But do you see? And I mean, oysters.

Out of curiosity, how many games do you watch a week?

It depends on the weeks, but I try to see quite a few. The seven or eight First Division games that I am going to have to talk about and the rest, at least, I see the summary. I also like to watch a Premier League match [the English league], but when I go with just enough time, traveling, with the girl and so on, I stick to the Spanish league.

Speaking of maternity, the RFEF has offered to finance the freezing of female footballers' eggs. There are those who see an advance in rights and those who criticize that it is a covert pressure to delay them from becoming mothers.

The most important thing is that there is the freedom of women to decide when they want to be a mother. It is complicated enough that you also have to decide between your professional life and your sporting life. The news must be taken from the point of view that they give you the option, not as a solution or as an obligation. There are footballers who can be overwhelmed by thinking: 'Oh, I'd like to, but I don't want to give up my career right now.' Because it happened to me; I delayed it until I was 33 because, at 30, I considered it was not the time for my career. Nobody pressured me. So, let those soccer players have this possibility. But we also have to support those who, due to their circumstances, say: 'Now I want to be a mother.'

We have had a two-week national team break. But there has been a lot of football and good football with the Spanish team. Are we unstoppable?

Completely. Furthermore, you see the National Team these days playing the Nations and you have Lamine and Cubarsí at 19 years old, Pedri and Fermín, at 23... And you say: facing the next World Cup, they are at an ideal moment in their careers.

A single match: the 2010 South Africa team or the current one?

How difficult! I don't know if it's hard to say, but, in terms of names, the one from 2010 may be a little above. We will see what the footballers of today end up with. But then; Iniesta, Xavi, David Villa. But to me this team seems more like a team and they are hungry for titles. I make a reflection: we won the World Cup without the best Lamine, nor the best Pedri, without almost seeing Nico Williams. That's why I say that it is a team led by a wonderful coach who has had to work hard. Because when he arrived he looked almost like an interim coach, right? And right now, Luis de la Fuente has to win the Ballon d'Or for the best coach. So, it is very difficult, but I think this Selection. Although with a tight result [laughs].

World champions in men's and women's categories. And, if that were not enough, the women's U-20 team won the World Cup just two weeks ago in Poland against South Korea.

Spanish football is in an extraordinary moment. We are the envy of federations around the world for the way in which the territorial ones and the RFEF work. Because it is not only the absolutes, but it is everything that comes from below, and that is the future that lies ahead of us.

Let's go with La Liga, which has been going for 7 days, but is already making great headlines. What's wrong with Real Madrid? Fourth in the league and 6 points behind Barça.

We must do a deep analysis of this team. In all the gatherings we talk about Real Madrid having the same problems as one or two seasons ago. He is missing a key player: a footballer in the center of the field. There was talk about Rodri, who finally decided to sign for the Barcelona Football Club, and Madrid did not incorporate any player in that position. It is evident that there is a lack of creation, something that has been dragging on since Toni Kroos and Luka Modric left.

Mourinho returned to the bench 13 seasons later to straighten out the dressing room, but there don't seem to be any big changes either.

A different José Mourinho has arrived than the one we all remembered. He himself has said it in press conferences: he is a calmer, more mature Mourinho. Many years have passed. He has a lot of work ahead of him and I think the main problem is that he has a top rival in front of him who is in a moment of absolute stability, with a coach who has been there for three seasons now and who has managed to build a team that works.

Mourinho and a considerable part of Real Madrid fans complain a lot about the referees. Is Real Madrid refereed unfairly?

This is a debate that exhausts me, honestly. I think that big teams can't complain so much about refereeing; Those who can really be harmed the most are the most humble. In the case of Madrid, it is true that there were decisions in the derby [against Atlético] that harmed them and that cannot be understood having the VAR. But from there to talk about an orchestrated campaign against a team, I don't buy that. Madrid also has to make self-criticism. It would be wrong to think that the last few seasons without titles have been because of the referees. There are decisions that harm you, sure, but you also have to accept that perhaps you are not playing football as you should.

And meanwhile, Barça is overwhelming: full in the League and rout after rout against Rayo, Valencia or Racing. What has Hansi Flick done to turn this team into a competing and goal-scoring machine?

The first thing is to convince some footballers of a game idea. After two seasons, this team works no matter who plays. Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres leave, the two nines, and suddenly Raphinha is invented, who is now the top scorer in LaLiga. On the left side you have doubts and a kid from the quarry appears, like Xavi Espart, who is already one of the best players. The key is to have built a team where all the pieces are so well oiled and, even if you change players, the team continues to work.

And at first there were doubts with Flick...

Yes, Flick arrived with certain doubts after his time in the German team. It arrived at a time when it was necessary to draw heavily from the youth team, with a very young Barça and difficulties in signing. And I think the work he has done is impeccable. He has managed to give the team a very clear identity: they start the games with a bite. After five minutes, the opponent is exhausted.

Has El Cholo earned the right to leave Atlético de Madrid whenever he wants, even if he doesn't win any titles?

Completely. Simeone has changed the history of Atlético de Madrid. The demand that exists now, and that should exist, is largely thanks to him. 15 seasons ago, before his arrival, that pressure did not exist. It was also not common to see him compete as he has done in Europe, reaching two finals. Simeone has achieved all of this.

Continuing with the benches, Javier Aguirre arrives at Valencia CF to remove them from the relegation spots. Will he be the savior?

I want to believe it. For two things. First, because Valencia is a club and a city that we have to have in the First Division. By social mass, by history, by everything. And then, by Javier Aguirre. He is a coach and a person that I love having in LaLiga. Then the debate will be whether he has the quality to enter Europe, surely. But he has players to keep up. They are emotionally very affected footballers after a very hard season with the previous coach. They need to regain confidence, because there are very good players like Javi Guerra or Hugo Duro.

Get wet: who will win the LaLiga and who will be the revelation of the championship?

If you ask me this before starting LaLiga, I don't know. Now, given what we have seen, Barça wins. Many things would have to change. I don't think they are going to win all 38 games, because it hasn't happened in history, but I would say that Barça will win their third in a row. As a revelation team, for me, Sevilla. Luis García Plaza seems like an incredible technician to me. Last season he already managed to convince the players that they could move the situation forward, and now he has started the season with a lot of confidence.

This week, the deadline to vote has ended. Who do you think will lift the Ballon d'Or on October 26?

I think it is the year in which the Ballon d'Or is most distributed. But, in a World Cup year, for me the World Cup must take precedence. And that means that a Spaniard has to win it. Who? There I have more doubts. Lamine is an absolute star and I am convinced that he is going to win many Ballon d'Ors. But this year, if I had to choose, perhaps I would say Rodri: he is a footballer who makes everything work around him. Although there is also Fabián, who has won many titles with PSG. My top would be: 1st Rodri, 2nd Lamine and 3rd Fabián.