María Pérez (Spanish footballer)

María Pérez Rabaza (born 24 December 2001) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder on loan at Liga F club Sevilla. A reserve player until 2023, she had already won the UEFA Women's Champions League and every title in Spain at least once with Barcelona, as well as the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup with Spain.

For other people of the same name, see María Pérez (disambiguation).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pérez and the second or maternal family name is Rabaza.
María Pérez
Personal information
Full name María Pérez Rabaza
Date of birth (2001-12-24) 24 December 2001
Place of birth Province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Height 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Sevilla
Number 16
Youth career
2009–2015 Sant Fost UE
2015–2018 CF La Roca PBB
2018–2020 CF Damm
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2023 Barcelona B
2021– Barcelona 10 (0)
2023– → Sevilla (loan)
International career‡
Spain U19
2021–2023 Spain U23
2022– Spain 6 (0)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Spain
FIFA Women's World Cup
Winner2023 Australia–New Zealand
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 May 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 August 2023

Early life

María Pérez Rabaza was born on 24 December 2001 and grew up in Sant Fost de Campsentelles, in the province of Barcelona.[1][2] A fan of FC Barcelona since childhood,[3] her football idol was central midfielder Andrés Iniesta until women's football became more accessible to watch and she began playing as a holding midfielder, at which point she became inspired by Patricia Guijarro and Keira Walsh. In the 2022–23 season she played in the same Barcelona team as both Guijarro and Walsh,[4] with both helping her grow in the position.[5]

Club career

Youth career, 2009–2020

Pérez began playing with the local Sant Fost UE team, staying for six seasons before moving to the Espanyol-affiliated CF Penya Blanc i Blava La Roca for three. She then spent two years with the specialist youth team CF Damm;[2] in the 2018–19 season she helped the team win the double[6] of the preferente league and youth Copa Catalunya, denying Barcelona's youth section both titles.[3] She was made one of Damm's captains for the 2019–20 season.[6] Her coach at Damm, Juli García, first moved her to the 'number 6' role, needing someone to play in defensive midfield and having Pérez adapt.[7][3]

Barcelona, 2020–present

She signed to the Barcelona femení B team in 2020,[2] and first played in the Primera División with first team FC Barcelona Femení on 22 June 2021, just in time to see the team collect a continental treble.[6][8] Barcelona coach Lluís Cortés saw in her what he called the rare qualities of a true defensive midfielder, wanting to bring her in and develop her in the pivot role for the club.[4]

She scored a goal for Barcelona in the 2021–22 pre-season, getting call-ups throughout this season and playing in eight matches in all competitions for the first team.[6][8] For the 2022–23 season, she captained the B team.[9] She got her first start with the first team in November 2022, playing all 90 minutes.[10] In January 2022 she started as a centre-back in their Copa de la Reina match against Osasuna, which Barcelona won 9–0 but was given as a technical win in favour of Osasuna.[11]

Having appeared for both Barcelona and the B team in the 2022–23 league season, Pérez won both leagues (the Primera División and Primera Federación respectively) on the same day, 30 April 2023, both with matches to spare.[12] She also won the Supercopa de España and UEFA Women's Champions League with the first team in 2022–23; she had spent most of the season training with the first team, and when her B team contract expired in June 2023 she renewed with a permanent first team contract.[9][13]

With both Pérez and Barcelona wanting her to have more top-flight playing experience, she was sent on a closed one-year loan to Sevilla ahead of the 2023–24 season. The same loan move had previously been completed by Barcelona teammates Clàudia Pina and Cata Coll, with success.[14]

International career

Pérez represented Spain at under-19 and under-23 before being called up to the senior team in November 2022 at the age of 20,[6] leaving an ongoing under-23 training camp to join them, while still primarily registered with Barcelona B in the country's second league division and having only played 97 minutes of top-flight football during the season. Replacing an injured player,[8] Pérez's call-up was considered surprising, given her relative inexperience, and seen as manager Jorge Vilda calling on younger players to avoid having to acknowledge the fifteen players who had withdrawn from selection.[15][10] Pérez made her senior international debut as a substitute against Japan on 15 November 2022.[8]

In April 2023, she was again taken from the under-23 training to join the senior squad when another player had to withdraw injured,[16] before being outright named to the squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in June 2023.[17] On selecting Pérez for the World Cup, Vilda said that she is the player most similar to Sergio Busquets that was available to him; he was impressed with her quality in training camps and she was given her first international start for the pre-tournament friendly against Panama.[18][19] Responding to the comparison, Pérez said that Vilda may have seen similarities because "Barça's style of football is very specific", adding that she hoped to be even a little of the player Busquets is and that her main references are women's players.[7]

At the World Cup, Pérez made one appearance, as the first substitute (replacing Teresa Abelleira) in Spain's 5–1 knock-out victory against Switzerland on 5 August 2023, the first time Spain had ever won a knock-out match in a tournament.[7][5] After the game, Pérez swapped shirts with Barcelona teammate and Switzerland player Ana-Maria Crnogorčević;[3] she then swapped shirts with Walsh[20] after Spain defeated England 1–0 in the final to win the World Cup, having said after the Switzerland match that she wanted to face Walsh at the tournament.[7]

Pérez, along with the rest of Spain's World Cup-winning squad and dozens of other female players, signed a letter saying they would not accept call-ups for the national team until significant changes were made in the Royal Spanish Football Federation.[21]

Style of play

Diario AS has highlighted Pérez' possession and close control of the ball as strong, with good movement and an ability to read the game.[7]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 3 May 2023[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Other[lower-alpha 2] Europe[lower-alpha 3] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona 2020–21 Primera División 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2021–22 6 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 9 0
2022–23 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 0
Career total 10 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 15 0
  1. Including Copa de la Reina
  2. Including Supercopa de España
  3. Including UEFA Women's Champions League

International
Statistics accurate as of match played 5 August 2023[1]
YearSpain
AppsGoals
202210
202350
Total60

Honours

FC Barcelona[1]

Spain

Notes
  1. Despite not playing in a Supercopa match, Pérez was in at least one matchday squad per season and receives the honour with the team.[1]

References
  1. "Spain - María Pérez - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  2. "Maria Pérez, nova jugadora del filial del FC Barcelona". somSantFost (in Catalan). Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  3. "María Pérez: "Patri Guijarro es la mejor pivote del mundo"". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 8 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  4. "María Pérez, de bromear con jugar en el primer equipo del Barça a representar a España en el Mundial: "Es un notable en casi todo"". Relevo (in Spanish). 7 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  5. Herrero, Laia Cervelló. "Perez on being 'shattered' after Japan, Busquets comparison and her sudden elevation". The Athletic. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  6. "Maria Pérez debuta amb la selecció espanyola absoluta". CF Damm (in Catalan). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  7. Casquero, Guillermo; Hall, Andy (7 August 2023). "María Pérez's meteoric rise: "In football, things don't just happen"". Diario AS. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  8. Griñán, Marta (16 November 2022). "María Pérez, de Segunda a La Roja". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  9. "Maria Pérez extends contract to 2025". www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  10. "Vilda llama a Maria Pérez, del filial del Barça, para la absoluta". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 9 November 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  11. "Osasuna vs. Barcelona - 10 January 2023 - Soccerway". Soccerway. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  12. "El Barça B femenino campeón de Liga en Segunda". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 1 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  13. Tikas, Maria (18 May 2023). "El FC Barcelona apuesta por Maria Pérez". Sport (in Spanish).
  14. "Maria Pérez, a prop d'anar cedida al Sevilla". somSantFost (in Catalan). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  15. "Selección española: Jorge Vilda convoca a María Perez, del Barça B, para los últimos test antes del Mundial". Sport (in Spanish). 2 April 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  16. Griñán, Marta (2 April 2023). "María Pérez y Pujadas sustituyen a Zornoza y Méndez en La Roja". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  17. "Esta es la lista de preparación para el Mundial de Australia y Nueva Zelanda" [This is the preparation list for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 12 June 2023.
  18. "Jorge Vilda explica la lista: "María Pérez es nuestra Sergio Busquets; es una apuesta, sí"". Diario AS (in Spanish). 30 June 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  19. "Alexia, Aitana, Paredes y la sorpresa Maria Pérez liderarán a España en el Mundial". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 30 June 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  20. "🗣Xavi Puig: "The truth is that we are not worried at all. The players who went with the Spanish national..."". X (formerly Twitter). Barça Femení. 20 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  21. "Spain's World Cup winners refuse to play until Luis Rubiales is removed". The Independent. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
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