Coll: I want opponents to fear me

• Cata Coll helped Spain win the FIFA Women's World Cup

• She is a finalist for The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper 2023

• Coll discusses her success, mentality and where she can improve

For Cata Coll, there was one moment that changed everything. The second-choice goalkeeper behind Sandra Panos for Barcelona, she travelled to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ with Spain behind Misa Rodriguez in the pecking order. On the bench for her side’s three group games, not even Coll herself expected to be drafted into the starting XI for the last-16 clash with Switzerland. That evening in Auckland was an unforgettable moment for a player making, remarkably, her first start for the senior side. That said, the now 22-year-old was by no means short of international experience, having won the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ with her country and finished second at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™. With Coll between the sticks, the Spanish went on to thrash the Swiss, edge out the Netherlands in extra-time, beat Sweden in the semis and sink England in thefFinal. Though it was English custodian Mary Earps who took the competition’s adidas Golden Glove, Coll herself played a significant role in Spain’s triumph. Nominated for The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper prize alongside Earps and Australian Mackenzie Arnold, Coll caught up with FIFA ahead of the gala, set to take place on 15 January in London.

Cata Coll: At the end of the day, you’re always pleased to be nominated for things like this. It’s true that you see such inspirational players nominated for these awards, so it’s always nice [to be included], but I think that, though it gets said a lot, these are collective awards and you win because your team’s won. It’s about being a good team and this year we’ve had that with Spain and with Barcelona, where we had a very good season and won the Champions League. I’m pleased but these are definitely collective awards that are then reflected in individuals.

More than anything else, the people. There were six of us, mainly younger players, who formed a friendship group and that’s what’s stuck with me. We spent our days off together, we’d see each other all the way through the World Cup and I don’t think we saw any long faces once – we were laughing all the time. In the end that’s what you have to hold on to, that’s what you remember. It’s true that you’ve won the World Cup, you’re super happy, but in the end football moves very fast. I remember that we won and we were back in training with Barcelona 10 days later, focusing on other things. So when you think about it, you end up remembering those moments you spent with your team-mates, with your friends, and that’s what sticks with you.

It felt normal, but it wasn’t something I was expecting [to happen] in the last 16, which is a game in which everything’s on the line and if you lose, you go home. I wasn’t expecting it but when the line-up came out and I saw myself in the starting XI, after that everything went smoothly, it all went well. It’s true that, though there are several of us ready to play [in each position], that’s something you don’t expect, especially as a goalkeeper. Us keepers know that you either start or you don’t play, so you don’t get your hopes up. I seized the opportunity full of confidence as that’s who I am, someone with a lot of self-belief. I thrive under the pressure of big matches and that’s why it went well for me.

I think that I’m a very competitive person, I love a challenge. You know you’re there as second choice, but you never know what might happen. You might be subbed on or simply someone gets injured or something else happens to the other goalkeeper, so you need to be prepared. I’ve been to loads of tournaments, lots of World Cups, and it’s happened before that I went to a World Cup as second choice and ended up starting. [Prior to Australia & New Zealand 2023] I’d been out for a long time through injury and so I took it as a reward for that hard work. It was really exciting [to be called up] and I also saw it as an opportunity to go back to Barça in good shape. I’m a very competitive person, I went there to compete and the competition [between the goalkeepers] was very healthy.

I’m someone who really goes with the vibes, with how I’m feeling. And I got this feeling inside that we were going to win. I’d look at Maria Perez and Olga Carmona too and we spoke about it and told each other we were going to win, we weren’t in any doubt. When you’re so certain, though it’s true things can go wrong, we just knew we’d reach the final and then whatever happened would happen. That was what was in our minds, that we couldn’t be happy with reaching the quarters or semis: we had to get to Sydney, to Australia, because we’d spent the whole World Cup in New Zealand.

I think the main thing is that clubs invest from grassroots level. When you lay the right foundations, when they teach you and coach you, you see yourself moving upwards. The national team for my age group reached almost every final, whether that be U-17, U-19, U-20. That says a lot, that clubs are better prepared all the time and that the younger players are better and better coached, all of which means the work being done to hit those heights is better too. Barcelona are the best club in the world for that right now. That’s what we work towards and why we’re working: to be the best team on the planet. And that’s reflected in the national team too, which in the end is like our club. Let’s hope there’s a lot more success to come.

The club crest alone inspires respect. The very top players have been here, you always see what the men’s side have achieved and you want to match that. I think that we’re achieving it, we’re getting more and more visibility, and that’s what we want. This is a very ambitious club where things are done properly, and that’s what we’re exposed to from the moment we get here. Being super ambitious, always wanting more. Since we won everything last season, this season winning the league alone is not enough. You have to try and win everything and being ambitious makes us all better. It’s not enough to win 1-0 if you’ve got the chance to win 5-0. That’s what makes us different to the rest.

A high priority. I think that goalkeepers are becoming more and more like outfield players. Goalkeepers are involved a lot and that’s something I love, it’s part of my playing style, that they can give me the ball. I feel very comfortable playing that way. It’s helped that I started as an outfield player. I think it’s very important. You start moves from the back and we need to be good at that. You try and draw players out. If someone comes to put me under pressure or I can draw someone to me, that means there’s a player free. It creates a clear out ball. The simple fact of someone passing to me or me playing a long pass into someone’s feet to create an overload. The way you play the ball out is very important to that. If someone’s pressuring me it means there’s a team-mate free, a space or an overload which lets us play out from the back. At club level we work on this so much, it’s drilled into us in every training session, with exercises involving using our feet, because that’s something you’ll do a lot during a match. Some games you’ll have more touches with your feet than your hands, so you have to be 100 per cent comfortable.

I joined this club aged 18 and I’ve always said that since I was little, I modelled myself on Panos. I think she’s got that level of experience which I haven’t – those years make a difference. She’s helped me and taught me a lot, I train with her every day and I’m more competitive thanks to her, because in every training session I push her and she pushes me, which I think is what makes us better. I think we’ve made each other better and we push each other to be at our best ahead of each weekend’s game.

It’s very important. Like when you see your goalkeeper and a striker looks at them and goes, ‘Whoa’. When your centre-backs can look at you and think, ‘My mind’s at ease’. I think that’s incredibly important and particularly for a goalkeeper. It’s a position where you have to give the impression that you’re totally solid. You can’t show weakness and I put a lot of emphasis in making sure the people around me and my team-mates feel that [solidity], and that opponents fear me enough to say, ‘Whoa, watch out’.

I see myself as someone who’s mentally very strong, but it’s true that it’s something you work on. With the [club] psychologist it’s something I’ve worked on a lot, but in the sense of ‘I don’t want to lose this’, as it’s part of my personality and my identity. That said, however much I’m like that, if I don’t save any shots then obviously someone’s going to have a word in my ear. But you keep working, training, talking and making your presence felt, letting people know you’re switched on and going to do a good job.

Yes, of course. I’m 22 and have loads of room for improvement. I’d say I can improve at everything, I don’t think I’ve perfected anything 100 per cent. I’ve got a long career ahead, loads to improve on, and I want to get better and become one of the world’s best goalkeepers. In the end you always want more. And hopefully that happens.

A footballer’s life does go by very fast. You come out of one competition and you’re straight into another. You might play in a Champions League semi-final and then you’ve got a league match that Sunday. That’s something about this sport that’s a little sad, that you can’t fully savour everything – you can’t fully savour the wins. This season we’re hoping to reach the Champions League final, which is played on May the 25th, but we’ve got league matches after that. If we win, how can I celebrate that Champions League success? You never get to properly celebrate, but that’s how it is. It’s true that after winning the World Cup I went back to Mallorca and went out with my mates to celebrate, because I was back home and relaxed, with my people and my friends. Your friends say to you, ‘You’re a world champion!’, and they enjoy it even more than you because what you’ve achieved hasn’t sunk in. They keep your feet on the ground. Having a break helps you reflect and go back at 100 per cent the following year.

Mary Earps, she’s had a good season and a good World Cup. In the final she saved England plenty of times. We could have scored more goals, she saved a penalty, she saved a one-on-one with Mariona [Caldentey]. I think she’s the perfect candidate to win The Best.

I’d love to win the Olympic Games. It’s something I’ve always watched on TV. I’d love to be there and hopefully it’ll happen.