Villarreal Goalkeeper and Nurse María Sanjuán works in Valencia hospital during Pandemic

Last June, Villarreal Femenino goalkeeper María Sanjuan completed her nursing degree, and now she’s currently one of the nurses working at Hospital La Fe (Valencia) to stop the pandemic. She started working there during summer full-time and from November her work hours where reduced to help her with her football career.

As she said, during her message-interview with Villarreal: “These last weeks have been very demanding, phisically and mentally. I think no medical worker was prepared for the times we are living in but we have also had an adaptation process. It’s gone and we are answering with the best way we can and I know we will stop the curve”. Now, she works full-time there, doing twelve hours shifts, from 8AM to 8PM, while also doing on call shifts, whether it be during seventeen hours, from 3PM to 8AM, or twenty-four hours. Besides that, they must be available the 24 hours a day in this time of need.

She also said: “In the end, calling the medical staff heroes is not a word we use. It’s our duty. It’s what we have been trained to do and we are all very proud of our work” She also wanted to send some positive message and a huge hug to all her colleagues at Hospital La Fe and Hospital Arnau de Vilanova and sharing her support for everyone involved in this.

With this pandemic, football has taken a back seat, and she confirms it when saying she haven’t had a lot of time to think about it, but she misses playing, training, celebrating the goals, the wins, and misses her teammates as “you spend a lot of time with them and you, obviously, miss that. I keep in touch with most of them daily”. She finished thanking Villarreal for their support, for their initiatives to help (#CuentaConmigo) and sharing some encouraging words.

We cheer for our footballers on game day but it is absolutely remarkable to see them step up in a time like this and make a difference to the people who need it most. Thank you, Maria, for everything you and your coworkers are doing in this crisis. Be safe, we are cheering for you now more than ever. Endavant!