Thirteen years ago, Andreas Iniesta celebrated the World Cup-winning goal with a tribute to his late friend Daniel Jarque Gonzalez.
And on Sunday, when Spain’s women’s team repeated the triumph, fullback Olga Carmona unveiled a tribute t-shirt for her close friend’s mother, who recently died, with the shirt reading: “MERCHI.”
“First of all, I want to say that this victory, this achievement, goes to the mother of one of my best friends who has recently passed away,” she told reporters afterward in Spanish.
“I celebrated the goal with her shirt and from here, I dedicate this to the whole family with all my love.”
Carmona netted the eventual winner over England in the 29th minute, with the match eventually ending 1-0.
The victory marks Spain’s first in the women’s World Cup, but fans initially speculated Carmona’s shirt was a reference to the team’s internal dysfunction, which came to the forefront prior to the tournament.
A group of 15 players rebelled against coach Jorge Vilda, including three on the World Cup roster.
That didn’t end up hurting Spain in the competition, as it went on to march through the knockout stage with wins over favored Sweden and England in the last two rounds.