Shandy Barbosa’s first impression of the Olympic Village left her with a but: “The food is a bit scarce. Yesterday (Monday) we arrived at four in the afternoon and there wasn’t much,” she laments next to the River Seine, which runs through the residential complex of the athletes. After Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and now Paris, there will be no more Games or more Villages for her. The career of the fourth highest scorer of the women’s handball team (750 goals) is coming to an end, the most relevant survivor of the best era of the Guerreras, a team that has been progressively moving away from success. She does not beat around the bush when judging the present: “We are not going to say that we want a medal because we would be deceiving ourselves and the public. We know our level, but also that we can compete and, if we do well, give some scares. “We’re going to take it little by little,” says the player, who was born in Lisbon 38 years ago but has been a member of the Spanish team since the end of 2012.
Beyond the difficulties faced by all in their bid to reach the top today, the composition of their group in the first phase feeds hopes of a place in the quarter-finals if Ambros Martin’s team gets through the two initial matches, against Brazil (this Thursday, 14.00) and Angola (Sunday 28, 19.00). Nothing impossible. The next rivals will be the Netherlands (Tuesday 30, 14.00), Hungary (Thursday 1, 14.00) and France (Saturday 3, 11.00). The Dutch and the hosts, the reigning Olympic champions, are particularly tough. Four of them get through.
Age and the passage of time have given Shandy Barbosa authority within the dressing room and a perspective on the journey of the national team in the last decade. Complacency is not an option for her. “My role is also to try to teach the young players to have more ambition,” the left-back begins. “Now, as they have more or less everything done, many times they don’t have the competitiveness of the older players. Just because they arrive, they think they have already achieved it. But no, you have to be constant, want more. The more experienced ones try to transmit that hunger, that mentality of continuing to work and that is being lost a little. We, the Warriors, when we have achieved something, it is because we have worked and fought to want even more. I think they are getting it and they are learning with me,” admits Barbosa, who regrets the situation of the Spanish League and who last year, faced with the possibility of playing her third Games, made the ultimate sacrifice and went with her family to Brest in France, to a higher competition.
She joined the Guerreras just after the great bronze at London 2012 and participated in the end of the golden era with the European silver in 2014 and the bitter elimination in Rio 2016, after squandering a seven-goal lead at half-time against France in the quarter-finals. That cruel outcome marked the turning point of an unforgettable team and, since then, the joys have been few: the 2019 World Cup silver – as deserved as it was surprising – and the fourth place at home in 2021, benefiting from a friendly schedule.
“The Guerreras in London had more quality, but also a lot of work behind them and a discipline of wanting to play. It is true that today young people have that discipline, but they must work even harder. They have quality, but not enough to compete now as they did in 2012,” Barbosa says about a present and a past that also had an extra advantage: many players belonged to the same club, Itxako from Estella (Navarra), the last Spanish team in the European elite, trained by the current coach, Ambros Martín. She was also there.
Mother and elite player
About to retire and with the idea of starting to prepare for the local police exams in Sagunto, Barbosa’s figure also goes beyond the courts and teachings to the new generations. In her career she has wanted to leave a message: you can be a mother and continue competing at a high level. It was not easy for her either. “When I was in Nantes, I had signed for two years and the president did not accept (motherhood), although French law protects women a lot. I had many problems, to the point that he wanted to break the contract. What I wanted to show is that we can do both things. I gave birth in April (2019) and in July I was already training at the same pace as my teammates. In November I went to the World Cup, we finished runners-up and they chose me as the best left back. It was like a message for all the clubs to see that it is possible. It is not easy either, because you have to be consistent and have a clear objective of what you want, but motherhood gives you maturity and a different way of seeing life,” says Shandy Barbosa, proud of the “little bit” she has contributed.
“From then on, and not just because of me, there were three or four players in France who became pregnant. Until then, it was not something that was talked about or fully accepted. It was almost a taboo subject and we have changed the mentality a bit. People no longer see it as something strange. In Norway and France, they now make it easier for mothers to have their children nearby when they are in competition. The doors have opened, but we have to move forward further,” concludes Barbosa, one of the leaders of the handball team, on and off the court.
The list
Goalkeepers: Mercedes Castellanos (Costa del Sol Malaga) and Nicole Wiggins (Nice).
Power stations: Silvia Arderius (Costa del Sol Málaga) and Alicia Fernández (Rapid Bucuresti).
Right Backs: María Prieto (Aula Valladolid), Paula Arcos (Vipers) and Mireya González (Dunarea Braila).
Left Backs: Lara González (Rapid Bucuresti) and Shandy Barbosa (Brest)
Right Wingers: Marta López (Rapid Bucuresti) and Maitane Etxeberria (Super Amara Bera Bera).
Left Wingers: Jennifer Gutiérrez (CSM Bucuresti).
Pivots: Kaba Gassama (Bietigheim) and Lysa Tchaptchet (Vipers)
Bookings: Darly Zoqbi (goalkeeper, SCM Craiova), Carmen Campos (centre-back, Dortmund) and Sole López (left winger, Costa del Sol Málaga).
Calendar
-Group stage: Brazil (Thursday 14:00), Angola (Sunday 28, 19:00), Netherlands (Tuesday 30, 14:00), Hungary (Thursday 1, 14:00) and France (Saturday 3, 11:00). Four teams have advanced.
Other group: Norway, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, Denmark and South Korea).
-Quarter breaks: Tuesday 6th (9.30, 13.30, 17.30 and 21.30).
-Semi-finals: Thursday 8th (16.30 and 21.30)
-Third and fourth place and final: Saturday 10th (bronze 10.00 and gold 15.00)
You can follow EL PAÍS Sports on Facebook and Xor sign up here to receive the Daily newsletter of the Paris Olympic Games.
