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“I’m going to step out of my comfort zone,” Aitana Bonmati said in an interview on Catalan radio station RAC1, a few weeks before the World Cup started.She wasn’t wrong.
Bonmati is a four-time Champions League winner and a World Cup winner. She has three Ballon d’Ors and is the creative spark for her Barcelona team and an international star of the women’s game.
She is also, as she admitted in that same interview, most comfortable “being in the countryside” in her native Catalonia, especially the area where she grew up in Sant Pere de Ribes, a small town 40 minutes down the coast from Barcelona.
Now she can add a new line to her character summary: world-class TV pundit.
Football intelligence has always been one of Bonmati defining strengths on the pitch. Over the opening week of the World Cup, she has also been impressing with her insights and analysis while working in the studio with TUDN Mexico.
A few months ago, the broadcaster signed her up for live commentary on Spain’s opening game, and for several appearances on their analysis programme Los Maestros, alongside ex-Argentina international Juan Pablo Sorin and others.
This is the first summer in a long time that Bonmati has had the time to try something like this. Mexico is a market that also suited her and her team from a commercial point of view, so she accepted the offer to try something different. But, as she launched a training camp in San Diego earlier this year, this is her final weekend on the program before making a trip out to California.
Being a good player doesn’t always mean you’ll be a good pundit, or know how to analyse a match properly from the sidelines, but in Bonmati’s case, the two seem to go hand-in-hand.
The day before Spain’s first World Cup game, the 28-year-old midfielder gave her thoughts on who manager Luis de la Fuente should start against Cape Verde, with key wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams both expected to be left on the bench following injuries.
“On the left wing, I’m not sure whether he’ll play Yeremy Pino, Dani Olmo or Alex Baena,” she said.
“If you play Pino, you’re looking for more depth, width and flair. With Baena or Olmo, you’re looking for a fourth midfielder. I think that against Cape Verde, who are likely to sit very deep, we’ll need players who can operate effectively in tight spaces. Olmo thrives in that situation and looks to take a quick shot or deliver the final pass.”
After De la Fuente selected Gavi as a left winger and Ferran Torres on the right (slightly unfamiliar roles for both), Spain laboured to a 0-0 draw against the tournament debutants, and Bonmati’s view was celebrated online as what the national team’s 64-year-old coach should have done.
The European champions looked flat without a proper attacking presence on the wing, and it was certainly true that Olmo helped to create danger when he did come on for Torres in the 81st minute. Meanwhile, there were doubts over Mikel Oyarzabal’s suitability for what seemed to be becoming an increasingly improvised game plan.
“I think Olmo should have come on sooner,” Bonmati said during commentary. “Olmo on the left, cutting inside. He’s quick in tight spaces, like the ones Cape Verde are offering.
“What’s more, they’re relying too much on crosses into the area. They need a striker who can finish inside the box, like Borja Iglesias, if they carry on playing like this.”
The following day, there was another interesting perspective from Bonmati. One that felt uniquely available to a player of her stature. It is not every day you get to hear Ballon d’Or winners breaking things down.
“Stars make a real difference on the pitch,” she replied when asked whether Lionel Messi would have unlocked that Cape Verde defence. What she said next revealed something about herself, too.
“Not just in terms of football, but also mentally,” Bonmati continued. “Just by being on the pitch, he affects the other team — their behaviour and their whole approach changes. Against Cape Verde, if Lamine had been there (from the start), something would have happened. He would have drawn in more opposition players, freeing up more of Spain’s players; they would have had more opportunities to go one-on-one out wide, something Spain lacked for almost the entire match.”
Apart from being accurate, the observations must explain how she feels, too. There are very few people in the world who have been the best in the world at something for years on end. Messi must feel that way, and so must Bonmati.
Another of the most highly praised clips of her analysis involved breaking down Mexico’s opening two victories, as she and her fellow pundits looked back on their wins against South Africa and South Korea.
She began by praising midfielder Brian Gutierrez for his “runs between the centre-back and full-back”. It turned into another peak inside her footballing brain.
“Many full-backs try to prevent skillful wingers from taking them on, so they mark very closely,” she said. “This often results in a very large gap between the centre-back and the full-back. This is where the attacking midfielder comes in.
“Not all of them have the ability, but those who do, they read that space well, and attacking midfielders are rarely marked. It’s very difficult for a second-line player to be marked. You’re always one step ahead.”
Just like on the pitch, Bonmati made it look easy. If they are smart her rivals will have been listening as well.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Barcelona, Spain, Soccer, La Liga, Women's Soccer, FIFA Men's World Cup
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