The life of María Esther Ponce, ‘Pelu’ for those who know her, was like that of any woman from Río Ceballos (Córdoba) until less than a decade ago; But the discovery of her participation in the 1971 World Cup in Mexico transformed her life: she went from anonymity to occupying the Olympus of women’s soccer in Argentina.
He confesses in an interview with EFE that the ball came into his life thanks to his father, who was a born athlete and fan of various disciplines, including soccer, and who taught him all his passions beyond the entry of women into the game. sport at that time was something frowned upon.
“My dad put everything in front of him, but at that time women couldn’t choose anything. Now women can do any sport,” she says. She narrates that one day at a women’s tournament that was televised, it was announced that they were looking for people, so she went, signed up and they let her.
‘Pelu’ comments that this was part of a business where the money from the tickets went to the organizers of the matches and that, in those duels, they were not trained, nor taught anything about the sport, and sometimes they even played against men.
“Since we liked to play ball, we went the same way,” he says.
María Esther Ponce and the dream of the World Cup in Mexico
Shortly after, she met another team where many of those who would be her teammates on her trip to Mexico were active, and she joined them to play in different cities.
One day, the manager of this team came with the news that there was a World Cup in Mexico, that they were looking for teams and that he would do everything possible so that they could go, and what they least imagined was that the dream could come true.
“There we were stars, they didn’t let us walk on the street. They stopped us everywhere to give us hugs, necklaces, hats… We were idols,” she says.
Ponce adds that they had everything against them there. They had to buy t-shirts and they went from playing on dirt fields to playing in the legendary Azteca Stadium, which had grass that “brushed their ankles.”
“We wore leather ankle boots for the first time, and of the 100,000 gathered there, only 30 or 40 supported us. But we didn’t care who was in front of us, we were going to have fun, play and win and it happened,” he says.
Argentina finished fourth in that tournament, with a historic 4-1 victory against England. Despite this, for the media they were nothing more than a group of women who had gone to play ball in Mexico. In her case, her family came back and she went to visit them and told them what she had experienced.
“Returning to Argentina was returning to nothing, to ignorance in the face of our feat,” he acknowledges.
Only television figures such as Mirtha Legrand and Mónica Cahen D’Anvers invited some players to talk about the sporting milestone, but she says that no one else talked to them about the matter.
A contribution to women’s football
The story that lived in the shadows for a long time was recovered by former player Lucila ‘Luky’ Sandoval, who, after her retirement, met her and did not hesitate to look for each of the pioneers.
“Everything that we are experiencing and that you are getting to know is thanks to that person,” says María Esther Ponce.
From there, this phenomenon returned glory and the ball to his life, and this feat has been recovered in the documentary “México 71”, which was released last December.
After his discovery, different tributes from the area’s soccer teams began, which even made him parade through the Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium in Córdoba.
Argentine players in a match between the women’s teams of Argentina and Peru, on July 14, 2023, in preparation for the Women’s Soccer World Cup Australia and New Zealand. EFE/ Juan Ignacio Roncoroni
Regarding the situation of women in sports, she explains that, although it has evolved a lot, now what we have is “stupid machismo.” In addition, she believes that the discipline needs more women on the benches and directives of the country.
“Women’s football is a reality that can no longer be denied,” he explains.
‘Pelu’ ends the interview with some of her own verses that denote the poetic feeling that the fact of having defended the colors of her country and having laid one of the first stones of women’s sports in Argentina awakens in her.
“And continuing with my dreams / I allowed myself the illusion / that one day / I would play for the beloved national team. / Today with all my courage / and all my tenacity / I want to tell you, friends, / that my dream came true.” With EFE