The Ecuadorian Monica Quinteros was on the verge of quitting football in early 2014, convinced she had gone as far as she could despite more than 20 goals in the championship for her club.
With seemingly no chance of making a living from her passion, she felt duty bound to focus instead on her work as a physical education teacher in Guayaquil.
And while the striker was finally convinced to preserve and even juggle the demands of her job with playing for the national team, things came to a head when the squad were obliged to spend two months in Quito to prepare for and compete in last year’s Copa America Femenina – South America’s qualifying event for the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ Canada 2015. Her college considered it too long to be away from her class and denied her permission to leave – a decision that seemed to dash any hope she had of ever gracing women’s football’s premier event.
But the story does not end there. Her team-mates finished third in the regional qualifying event, earning a two-legged intercontinental play-off against CONCACAF representatives Trinidad and Tobago. Moreover, Ecuador coach Vanessa Arauz kept the door open for the 26-year-old, giving her 45 minutes in the first leg at home (0-0) and a starting place in the return. Quinteros repaid that faith with a 91st minute strike to secure her side’s historic qualification for Canada 2015.
Source – fifawwc
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