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Verónica Boquete facts for kids

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Boquete and the second or maternal family name is Giadáns.
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Verónica Boquete
4f3c0a4ec8960-Verónica Boquete, Praza Pública, 2012 (cropped).jpg
Boquete with Spain in 2012
Personal information
Full name Verónica Boquete Giadáns
Date of birth (1987-04-09) 9 April 1987 (age 38)
Place of birth Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) False 9, striker
Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Fiorentina
Number 87
Youth career
2004–2005 SD Xuventú Aguiño
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Prainsa Zaragoza 83 (40)
2008–2010 RCD Espanyol 68 (39)
2010 Buffalo Flash 9 (9)
2010 Chicago Red Stars 3 (1)
2010–2011 RCD Espanyol 29 (41)
2011 Philadelphia Independence 13 (5)
2011 Energiya Voronezh 5 (1)
2012–2014 Tyresö FF 39 (13)
2014 Portland Thorns 15 (4)
2014–2015 1. FFC Frankfurt 21 (7)
2015–2016 Bayern Munich 9 (0)
2016–2018 Paris Saint-Germain 31 (8)
2018–2019 Beijing BG Phoenix
2019–2020 Utah Royals FC 21 (0)
2020–2022 Milan 20 (2)
2022– Fiorentina 76 (26)
International career
2004–2006 Spain U-19 23 (10)
2005–2017 Spain 62 (38)
2007– Galicia 3 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 March 2025

Verónica Boquete Giadáns (born April 9, 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer. She plays as a forward or midfielder for the Italian club Fiorentina. Verónica has played for fifteen different clubs in eight countries. These include Spain, the United States, Russia, Sweden, France, Germany, China, and Italy.

She was also the captain of the Spain national team from 2013 to 2017. She helped Spain qualify for the 2013 UEFA Women's Euro and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Verónica has also captained the Galicia national team since it started.

Many people see Boquete as one of Spain's best footballers ever. She won two Copas de la Reina with RCD Espanyol. She also set a record by scoring 39 goals in one season in Spain's top league. In 2014, she was the first Spanish player to play in a UEFA Women's Champions League final. She also became the first Spanish footballer nominated for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Award. In 2015, she won the UEFA Women's Champions League with FFC Frankfurt.

Verónica played for the Spanish national team for 12 years. She started playing for them in February 2005 when she was 17. As captain, she helped Spain reach the 2013 Euros and their first ever Women's World Cup in 2015. After the 2015 World Cup, Boquete led the players in a protest. They spoke out against their coach, Ignacio Quereda, for his behavior. Her national team career ended in 2017. She retired with 62 games played and 38 goals scored, which was a team record at the time.

Boquete has always spoken out against unfair treatment of female footballers. In 2013, she asked Electronic Arts to include women in their game series FIFA. This happened in FIFA 16. Before the 2015 Women's World Cup, she joined other players in a lawsuit against FIFA. They protested playing on artificial turf instead of grass. In 2023, she supported Jenni Hermoso after an incident at the 2023 Women's World Cup final. This event was later called the Rubiales affair.

Early Life and Football Start

Verónica Boquete Giadáns was born on April 9, 1987, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Her father, a football coach, and her brother, Adrián, inspired her to play. When she was young, she was the only girl playing football with boys in her city.

For a year, she could only train with the boys' team. Girls were not allowed to play in matches. Her father and the club president helped change this rule. She played on boys' teams until she was fifteen. Boquete says that dealing with this unfairness made her brave enough to speak up.

She also played futsal with other girls. In 2004, at age 15, she joined S.D. Xuventú Aguiño, a futsal team. National team coaches saw her play there. This led to her first call-up for Spain's U-19 national team. After winning the 2004 U-19 Women's Euro, she got offers from many Spanish clubs. But she chose to finish school first.

Club Career Highlights

Starting with Prainsa Zaragoza

Boquete left her home region of Galicia at 18 to play football professionally. She joined Prainsa Zaragoza in 2005. She chose Zaragoza because she knew she would play a big role there. She scored about one goal every two matches during her three years at the club.

Success with RCD Espanyol

In August 2008, Boquete moved to RCD Espanyol. She made her debut on September 11, 2008. Espanyol won the Copa Catalunya against Barcelona. On June 21, 2009, she played in her first big final, the Copa de la Reina. Espanyol won 5-1 against her old club, Prainsa Zaragoza. This was her first major title. She scored 15 goals in the 2008-09 season. Because of her success, she was named Galicia's Athlete of the Year in 2009.

In 2010, Espanyol reached the league final again but lost. On June 5, 2010, Boquete played in her second Copa de la Reina final. Espanyol won 3-1 against Rayo Vallecano. Boquete helped set up one of the goals.

Playing in the USA: Buffalo and Chicago

In 2010, Boquete went to the USA for the summer. She played for the Buffalo Flash in the USL W-League. This was a semi-professional league. She scored eight goals in nine matches. On July 31, 2010, she scored two goals in the 2010 USL W-League Championship. This helped the Flash win. She was named the MVP of the tournament. Her play caught the eye of the Chicago Red Stars in the WPS league.

She joined the Red Stars on August 8, 2010. She helped Chicago win their last two matches of the season. She scored one goal and made two assists. Boquete later said that in Chicago, she saw a future where she could be a professional footballer.

Return to Espanyol and Goal Record

Boquete returned to Spain after the 2010 WPS season. She had a very successful individual season with Espanyol. She scored 39 goals in 26 matches. This is still the record for most goals in a single season in Spain's top women's division. Espanyol reached the 2011 Copa de la Reina final. However, Boquete had already left to play for Philadelphia Independence in the USA.

Philadelphia Independence and Player of the Year

Boquete became well-known internationally after joining Philadelphia Independence in 2011. She scored 5 goals and made 4 assists in the 2011 season. Philadelphia reached the playoff final. Boquete scored her penalty in the shootout, but her team lost. At the end of the season, she won the Player of the Year Award. She won this award after playing only 11 league games.

European Adventures: Russia and Sweden

In September 2011, Boquete moved to the Russian team Energiya Voronezh. She played in the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time. She scored her first Champions League goal against Bristol Academy. She left the club in January 2012.

In January 2012, Boquete joined the Swedish club Tyresö FF. She played alongside famous players like Marta. Tyresö won the Swedish league title for the first time in 2012. Boquete was named the league's Midfielder of the Year. She also had 8 assists, the third most in the league. In August 2013, she was nominated for the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award.

Tyresö reached the 2014 UEFA Women's Champions League Final. Boquete scored a goal in the final, but Tyresö lost 3-4. This was her last match for the club. Tyresö later went bankrupt.

Winning the Champions League with FFC Frankfurt

On August 25, 2014, Boquete signed with 1. FFC Frankfurt in Germany. While with Frankfurt, she was nominated for the 2014 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Award. She was the first Spanish woman to be nominated for this award.

Boquete reached her second Champions League final in a row with Frankfurt. On May 14, 2015, Frankfurt won 2-1 against PSG. With this win, Boquete became the first Spanish player to win a UEFA Women's Champions League title. She was also named to the UWCL Squad of the Season.

Later Club Career

After Frankfurt, Boquete played for Bayern Munich (2015-2016) and Paris Saint-Germain (2016-2018). She won the Bundesliga title with Bayern. She reached her third Champions League final with PSG in 2017, but they lost in a penalty shootout.

She then played for Beijing BG Phoenix in China (2018-2019). After that, she joined Utah Royals FC in the USA (2019-2020). She had 6 assists in the 2019 NWSL season, which was the third most in the league.

In November 2020, Boquete joined AC Milan in Italy. She helped the team qualify for the Champions League. In 2020, she was named to the FIFPRO Women's World 11. She scored two goals in the 2020-21 Coppa Italia semifinal against Inter Milan. Milan reached the final but lost on penalties. She left Milan in January 2022.

On January 6, 2022, Boquete joined Fiorentina, where she plays today.

International Career for Spain

Youth and Senior Team Debut

Boquete first played for Spain's U-19 team in 2004. She won the 2004 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship with Spain. Her first game for the senior Spain women's national football team was in February 2005. She was 17 years old.

Qualifying for Euros and World Cup

In 2012, Spain played Scotland in a playoff to qualify for the 2013 UEFA Women's Euro. Boquete scored the winning goal in the 122nd minute. This goal qualified Spain for their first Women's Euro since 1997. She later said this was the most important goal of her career.

In June 2013, coach Ignacio Quereda chose Boquete for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 finals in Sweden.

2015 World Cup and Player Protest

On May 11, 2015, Boquete was named captain for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Spain had a tough tournament. They drew with Costa Rica and lost to Brazil. In their final group game against South Korea, Boquete scored the first goal. However, Spain lost 2-1 and was eliminated.

After the World Cup, the Spanish players were very unhappy with their coach, Ignacio Quereda. On June 19, all 23 players from the World Cup squad wrote a letter. They asked for Quereda to be removed as coach. Boquete was a key leader in this protest. She gave interviews to explain why the players were speaking out. The players said Quereda used old training methods and did not prepare them well. They also said he was controlling and made rude comments.

Quereda resigned on July 29, 2015. Jorge Vilda was appointed as the new coach. Boquete was given the Bronze Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit for her service in sports.

Later Years and Speaking Out

Under the new coach, Jorge Vilda, Boquete played less and less. She did help Spain qualify for the 2017 UEFA Women's Euro. She scored two goals in a 3-1 win against the Republic of Ireland. However, on June 20, 2017, she was not chosen for Spain's Euro squad. She posted a letter saying she was sad but wished her teammates well.

After this, Boquete was never called to play for Spain again. She said her time with the national team was over, and it was not because of her football skills. Her national team career ended with 62 games and 38 goals. She has since provided commentary for Spain women's national team matches.

Boquete has continued to speak publicly about her experiences. In 2021, she was in a documentary called Romper El Silencio ("Break the Silence"). She and other former teammates said Quereda was abusive and created a bad environment. In 2022, she supported the "Las 15" conflict. This was when 15 players demanded better conditions within the national team.

After Jorge Vilda was removed as Spain's head coach, Boquete posted a photo of herself smiling with champagne. She captioned it, "Vintage Champagne, 8 years of maturation in the bottle." This was a clear reference to Vilda's eight years in charge.

Response to the Rubiales Incident

After Spain won the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, kissed player Jennifer Hermoso without her consent. This caused a huge international reaction. Boquete became a central figure in criticizing Rubiales and the RFEF.

On August 25, Boquete gathered 80 current and former Spanish players. They formed a group chat called "Off to War." They wrote a letter saying they would not play for the national team unless Rubiales was removed. Boquete also wrote an article about the unfair treatment of women footballers in Spain. She hoped the incident would lead to big changes in Spanish football.

In a September interview, Boquete said the RFEF tried to discredit Hermoso. She also criticized the Spanish men's national team's slow response. She felt the RFEF's choice for the new coach, Montsé Tomé, was not the best. Boquete argued that Tomé had tolerated too much from Rubiales. She believed it was an attempt to put a woman in charge to stop players from complaining.

International Goals

Personal Life and Advocacy

Boquete speaks Spanish, Portuguese, English, and Italian. She studied Physical Education at the University of Zaragoza.

Her special goal celebration is putting her hand over her face like an octopus. This connects her to her friends and family in Galicia, where octopus is a popular food. She wears the number 21 jersey to honor Espanyol's Daniel Jarque, who passed away in 2009.

Since 2017, Boquete has been part of Common Goal. This group has footballers donate 1% of their salary to football charities. She supports a charity in Saint Lucia that helps women through sports.

Fighting for Fair Play: Lawsuit Against FIFA

In 2014, Boquete and other players filed a lawsuit against FIFA. They protested FIFA's choice to use artificial turf for the 2015 Women's World Cup. Artificial turf can cause more injuries and burns than grass. The lawsuit aimed to make football safer and fairer for players.

Famous athletes like Kobe Bryant supported the lawsuit. However, the lawsuit was not successful. The tournament still used artificial turf fields.

Honours and Awards

RCD Espanyol
  • Copa de la Reina de Fútbol: 2009, 2010

Buffalo Flash

  • USL W-League Championship: 2010
Tyresö FF
1. FFC Frankfurt
Bayern München
Spain

Individual

Images for kids

  • Vero Boquete Tyreso 2013

    Playing for Tyresö FF in 2014

  • UEFA Women's Champions League Final Berlin 2015 15

    With the UEFA Women's Champions League trophy in 2015

  • Vero Boquete Euro 2013b

    Boquete with Spain in 2013

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Vero Boquete para niños

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