Ana González and her twin sister Laura were not particularly kind to their dolls.
Their mother remembers them breaking the toys so that they could play with a ball instead. They had grown up watching their older brother play football, and the game soon occupied almost every corner of the family home.
It never really left.
Ana and Laura became footballers, shared dressing rooms at Sevilla and Betis and began coaching academy teams while they were still playing. Even now, Ana admits that she does not switch off when she returns home. Her sister is a coach, and she can already imagine following the same path when her playing career ends.
For now, that career continues to be defined by her ability to change.
Ana joined Sevilla’s academy in 2009 and reached the first team as a teenager. In 2014, she crossed one of the deepest divides in Spanish football to sign for Betis.
The move attracted far less attention than it would today. Ana, Laura and their new teammates were presented at a Betis supporters’ club in the San Pablo neighbourhood, not at the Benito Villamarín. The team were still competing in the second tier, and the professional Liga F did not yet exist.
Ana remained for eight seasons.
She helped Betis win promotion in 2016 and subsequently experienced almost every possible version of the club: challenging near the top, fighting relegation, playing at the Villamarín and watching the women’s section gradually gain better facilities and greater visibility.
She also discovered that continuity does not guarantee security.
There were seasons in which she played regularly and others in which she appeared to have lost her place. Looking back, she admitted that it took her time to understand that spells without regular playing time were also part of a footballer’s career. Her response was to continue working until another opportunity appeared.
The most important change took her into a new position.
Ana had developed as a centre-back but gradually moved forward into midfield during her final years at Betis. The switch allowed her to use her reading of the game and defensive instincts while becoming more involved in possession.
“The one who adapts is the one who survives,” she said when reflecting on that transformation in 2022.
By then, adapting also meant leaving.
Ana was 27 and had spent her entire footballing life in Seville. Leaving Betis brought sadness and uncertainty, but she understood that the club and the player needed to go their separate ways in order to continue growing.
Madrid CFF gave her that opportunity.
She arrived in time for the best campaign in the club’s history: a fifth-place finish with 56 points in her first season. She spent two campaigns there and scored seven goals after establishing herself in midfield.
Her next destination was Badalona, where she assumed a leadership role amid almost constant change around the squad and added another 49 Liga F appearances.
The most special moment came in the Copa de la Reina.
Badalona reached the semi-finals in 2026 and held Barça to a goalless draw in the first leg. Ana played in midfield while her team spent long periods defending close to their own penalty area. Before the return, she spoke about the need to accept suffering and learn to feel comfortable within it.
The idea could also describe much of her career.
Laura is already coaching. Ana is still playing.
She now returns to Madrid CFF, the club she joined when she first ventured beyond Seville.
At 31, Ana González is still adapting. That is precisely why she is still here.