Put simply, “the warriors”. While the Spanish men’s national team are “Los Hispanos”, the Spanish, the women have a more insightful nickname.

“Las Guerreras” are “the warriors”, the team that never backs down, irrespective of the challenge, of the opponent, or the adversities they find on the court.

Spain have long prided themselves on that nickname and it was the spirit, the grit and the sheer desire to win that brought them two silver medals at EHF EUROs, a silver medal and a bronze at IHF Women’s World Championships and a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in the past 13 years.

With only two coaches, Jorge Duenas and the current mastermind behind the team, Carlos Viver, in that timespan, Spain have not changed much, used the same approach and relied heavily on their strengths as a team, rather than on individuals.

Sure, boasting players like right wing Carmen Martin, centre back Nerea Pena or goalkeeper Silvia Navarro in their ranks surely helped. For the last decade, Martin has been one of the most reliable right wings in world handball, scoring 794 goals in 230 games for the Spanish side.

Only two other players, Marta Mangue (1,034 goals) and Cristina Gomez (897 goals) top Martin in the all-time standings, but the current captain of the “Guerreras” has a better goal average than them.

Martin embodies the “Guerreras” spirit best, a never-say-never player, who wears her heart on her sleeve and never lets go, in spite of everything what happens on the court. Her seven-goal outburst in the maiden game of the Tokyo Handball Qualification 2020 in Llíria helped Spain mount an astonishing comeback against Sweden, to tie the game, 28:28, in the last second.

With 100 seconds left on the clock, Spain were down by three, but their aggressive approach paid out and only a win against Argentina sits between the Spanish side and their third consecutive Olympic Games berth.

“We are very happy to have earned a draw, it looked like we were losing, but we came back and showed a great spirit.”

“Yes, we have that instilled in us, we are true fighters, true warriors, and we could not have done it without this mentality,” said Carmen Martin, the top scorer of the Tokyo Handball Qualification 2020 after the first day.

It was a trademark “Guerreras” game, with its ups and downs, one that ended with Spain brimming with confidence and with large smiles upon their faces. A masterstroke when everything seemed gone.

The crucial year

2021 is a crucial year for Spain, with Tournament 1 of the Tokyo Handball Qualification 2020 hosted in Llíria, before the 25th IHF Women’s World Championship, due to be hosted by the Iberian country in December.

Yet Spain are not thinking about the World Championship, nor about the Olympic Games.

“We still have not qualified for the Olympic Games, so we cannot talk about that right now. There is still one game to be played against Argentina. Win that and then we can talk about the next tournaments,” said coach Carlos Viver, a happy man, after his side came back and took a draw against Sweden on Friday evening.

Sure, Spain look to be on a downward trend after securing the silver medal at the IHF Women’s World Championship in Japan in December 2019. A last-gasp goal, in the dying second of the game, by Dutch left back Lois Abbingh, helped the Netherlands to win their first-ever major tournament, 30:29, as Spain never recovered from that blow to finish ninth at the Women’s EHF EURO 2020 last December.

But count out Spain at your peril. They always look like the underdogs, but when they bite, when their fighting spirit is channelled onto the court, they are unstoppable. With a trademark stingy defence and devastating fast breaks, usually run by Martin, Spain can win against any opponent.

And that is exactly what Viver is trying to do with the current squad, who is missing back Alexandrina Cabral Barbosa, who is out until the summer with a knee injury.

“We are not thinking about medals, we are only thinking about what is to come and that is a very tough match against Argentina,” added the Spanish coach.

While Argentina might have never won against a European side, tougher challenges await for Spain in the next months.

“Hopefully, we will have fans in the stands in December, when we are hosting the IHF Women’s World Championship. We are playing for them and we hope to please everyone who supports us in the next year,” concluded Viver.

Win or lose, one thing is certain. If these “Guerreras” show up for every game, fans will definitely be pleased.

Photos: RFEBM / J. L. Recio