Vicky Lopez: The Mesmerising Spanish Football Sensation

Vicky Lopez has already created history in women’s football despite just being 17 years old. She is an excellent technician with frightening speed and close control to get past opponents. Lopez has dominated the youth competition both on the European stage and the world stage.

The Spanish starlet is a serial winner and has a strong character. She overcame the death of her mother to pursue her dreams on the football pitch. Join us as we explore the journey of the reigning FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup Golden Ball Winner, Victoria Lopez Serrano Felix.

Player Profile – Vicky Lopez

Victoria Lopez Serrano Felix is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and a winger for Liga F club Barcelona. She is also a regular feature for the Spanish women’s senior national team.

López began her club career in the youth ranks of Madrid CFF in 2015. She stood out as one of the best young female prospects in Spain.

She is the youngest-ever player in Spain’s top women’s division. After moving to FC Barcelona in 2022, she has broken multiple club records.

Lopez is a FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and also a Golden Ball winner in the 2022 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup. She is The Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner at the 2023 Euro U17 Championship. Despite her young age, She debuted for Spain and won the 2023 thee UEFA Women’s Nations League.

Player Profile Overview

The Early Life of Vicky Lopez

Vicky Lopez was born in the Vallecas neighbourhood of Madrid to her Spanish father Jesús López Serrano Perez and her Nigerian mother Joy Felix. She has an older brother whom she would often play football with.

As Vicky continued to grow, she would play against girls at least twice her age. She joined C.D. Sport Villa in Vallecas, a 7-a-side girls’ football team, playing as a centre-back for the club. Her talents caught the attention of Alba Mellado, the captain of Madrid CFF who also coached some of their girls’ youth teams.

The Real Madrid CFF captain tried to convince Vicky Lopez to join Madrid CFF’s youth ranks to no avail. The youngster and her parents wanted her to continue playing with her friends.

Due to her bad performance in school, Her father temporarily withdrew from Sport Villa. Afterwards, she went to a training camp with Rayo Vallecano before deciding to join the youth ranks at Madrid CFF.

Mellado’s time with Lopez helped them forge a bond that softened Her parents’ stance on joining Madrid CFF. They finally allowed her to undergo trials with the club which she passed.

Vicky Lopez’s path is similar to household names such as Jenni Hermoso and Linda Caicedo, who developed their craft playing against boys.

Vicky Lopez’s Style of Play

Lopez is a tricky speedster, she likes to dribble and outpace her opponents. She also possesses a lot of technical skills that help her to read the game, dictating play and creating chances for her teammates.

She also has a good eye for goal and good movement in the opposition box. Her ability to strike the ball, getting in on goal, shaking off her markers and good ball-control with either foot makes her a dangerous prospect for oppositions.

Youth Career

Vicky Lopez attended a summer training camp with Rayo Vallecano intending to join their youth ranks. However, Madrid CFF’s captain Mellado who had been courting her was able to persuade Lopez to join the Madrid outfit.

López competed in the first La Liga Promesas Femenina in 2019. The tournament was played amongst the under-12 sides of most teams in the Spanish first division.

She put in impressive performances scoring seven goals which included a hat-trick in the final, ending the tournament as the best player of the tournament MVP. Furthermore, during the 2020–21 youth league season, Her outstanding performances and goal returns saw her overwhelm her opponents scoring 60 goals in 17 matches.

Senior Career

After her breathtaking displays with the youth sides, Lopez had to wait until she was 15 to make her professional debut, the minimum eligible age to play in the Spanish Women’s top flight.

Her Madrid CFF debut came on the 5th of September, 2021 when she came on as a substitute to replace Geyse, in the Spanish Liga F encounter with Athletic Bilbao. Her appearance in that match made her the youngest player to debut in Spain’s Liga F.

Moving From Madrid CFF To Barcelona Femenino

After spending just one season with Madrid CFF, Lopez was on the move, joining FC Barcelona on 26 July 2022, on a five-year contract. Despite her immense talents and performance, Vicky Lopez’s career at the club started with the Barcelona B side, occasionally entering the first team picture.

Vicky Lopez’s first appearance for Barcelona’s senior team came on 17 September 2022, starting in a home tie against UD Tenerife. She became the youngest debutant for Barcelona’s first team and also the youngest-ever female player, to feature in an El Clasico match. Her record puts her behind Lamine Yamal in Barca’s entire history.

Vicky’s senior career has been filled with breaking or setting records. Her debut in the UEFA Women’s Champions League made her the youngest player to compete in the competition with FC Barcelona.

To add to her growing list of records, she became the youngest goal scorer in Barcelona’s senior team history, scoring against Levante Las Planas in a 7-0 win in the league. In addition, Vicky Lopez broke Ansu Fati’s records to become the youngest player male or female to score a goal in El Clasico.

Although Lopez was playing regularly with the senior team, she continued to play for the Barcelona B team to aid her development. Her first goal for the B-side came in a 3-nil win against Athletic Club B.

Vicky Lopez won her first senior title when Barcelona won the 2022–23 Spanish league and on the same day, she also won her first title with Barcelona B.

The B-side won Spain’s second-tier of women’s football league, the 2022-23 Primera Federacion. Her impressive performances that season meant she was nominated among a 10-women list of finalists for Tuttosport’s European Golden Girl award.

International career

Vicky Lopez started her international career with the Spanish U17, featuring in several competitions for the team. She starred in the 2022 UEFA Euro U17 scoring one goal in the tournament before losing to Germany on penalties, in which she missed the final kick.

After the U17s qualified for the 2023 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India, Lopez made amends for her penalty miss against Germany. She led the team past the Germans in the semi-finals avenging the 2022 UEFA u17 final loss.

They defeated Colombia in the final to lift the trophy and Lopez won the Golden Ball award as the best player of the 2023 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India.

Vicky Lopez featured for Spain at the 2023 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship looking to build on their World Cup win. She was more prolific than her last U17 Euros appearance, scoring in the group stage, the semifinal, and also the final.

Lopez scored a brace against the German U17s including the fastest goal scored in Under-17 Women’s Euro history. They progressed to their second consecutive final to confront the French U17s.

After a tight first half, Vicky Lopez and her teammates got off to a bad start in the second half, going 3 goals behind by the 78th minute, with Lopez conceding the penalty for the third goal. Lopez made amends by scoring two goals in two minutes, however, Spain stage a memorable comeback.

They lost the final 3-2 on the night, but Lopez had a stellar campaign, sharing the Golden Boot with Liana Joseph and Maeline Mendy after the three players each scored 5 goals. She also won the Golden Ball as the Player of the Tournament award for her impressive string of performances.

Choosing To Represent Spain Over Nigeria

Vicky Lopez was eligible to represent Nigeria and Spain as she was born to a Spanish father and a Nigerian mother. Choosing to play for the Super Falcons would see her feature alongside the Queen of African Football, “Agba Baller” Asisat Oshoala.

However, according to her father, the Nigerian Football Federation never showed any interest or indication they wanted Vicky to represent her motherland. Instead, the talented starlet was courted by the Royal Spanish Football Federation from her early beginnings.

Although Lopez has spoken fondly of the Super Falcons and subtly declared her intention to play for them in honour of her mother. However, she decided to represent her country of birth, making her debut at the 2024 UEFA Women’s Nations League Finals.

She came on as a substitute for Jenni Hermoso in the win over the Netherlands. This appearance made her the youngest woman to debut for the Spanish national team.

Their victory over the Dutch secured the country’s first-ever Olympic qualification in their history. Lopez won her first senior national team title when they beat France in the Finals.

The Personal Life of Vicky Lopez.

Growing up with her family, Lopez has an immense love for football. Her family supported her footballing ambitions and to become a football superstar. She has a good relationship with her older brother although they are known to bicker at each other as most siblings do.

However, tragedy struck when Lopez was just 11 years old. In 2018, Her mother died from a brain tumour. She had to spend a lot of time with her mom at the hospital as Her mom approached the end of Her life. She received a lot of support from her then club, Madrid CFF. They rallied around her, taking Lopez to and from training.

To honour her mother, Vicky Lopez is frequently seen celebrating her goals by looking up and pointing to the skies after scoring a goal. She is still a student about to complete her is completing her A levels in Spain.

Conclusion

Vicky Lopez’s young career has already witnessed her break and set records both on the club level and also for the national team. Her career trajectory has seen her play and learn from star players such as Asisat Oshoala and Jenni Hermoso.

She is expected to feature and star for the Spanish women’s National team in Paris. Leading a host of young talents during the football showpiece event at the 2024 Olympic Games. Like most of her fans, we at Footballers Biographies are looking forward to her exploits both at club and national level.