Following a historic penalty shootout victory in the gold medal match of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, veteran goalkeeper Inna Palacios stood on the pitch, realizing a dream nearly two decades in the making.
Hours before the Philippines dethroned four-time defending champions Vietnam last Wednesday to claim its maiden SEA Games gold medal, Palacios quietly announced that this match would be her last.
After an 18-year international career spanning youth and senior levels, and tournaments such as the AFF Women’s Championship and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, she couldn’t have scripted a better ending: a first-ever SEA Games gold medal draped around her neck.
“Full circle moment for me,” Palacios said, reflecting on a journey that began when women’s football in the Philippines was still far from mainstream attention.
“The SEA Games were when I started to dream, and it just took me 18 years to get the gold. I think for me, it’s sad that I have to leave the team, but I think I’ve done everything I can as a player. I’ve dreamed a lot for the team, I’ve given so much for the team, and I wanna see them dream for that.”
For Palacios, the decision to retire wasn’t impulsive. It came from the realization that she had nothing left to prove.
She had been part of every major milestone in the Filipinas’ rise — from being a minnow on the international stage to reaching the heights of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Her stint playing for flag and country had to end one day. It just so happened that it came at a moment when the Filipinas were breaking further ground, adding to their legend in Philippine sports.
“A few months ago, but then I wanted it to be the right time,” she revealed. “For some reason, and I always say this, I don’t know when or how, but my heart knew that SEA Games would be the last. I knew in my heart na ginawa ko lahat para sa team.
“As a player, I’ve done everything, I’ve given everything, and I just wanted it to end on a good note. For the team to give me that, and for me to experience this — I couldn’t ask for any other ending for my national team career.”
Choosing to reveal her retirement to the team before the final was a calculated risk, intended as a final spark for her teammates — and it worked.
To win the SEA Games this year, the Filipinas faced numerous adversities: losing to Myanmar in their first match, needing to beat Malaysia by a significant margin to reach the semifinals, and winning penalty shootouts after grueling extra time periods against Thailand and Vietnam in the semifinals and final, respectively.
Sharing news with such huge implications could have backfired, but the players ensured that Palacios would have something to hold onto after giving more than her life for flag and country.
“I just felt it in my gut, my intuition that if I did announce it, it would be an extra boost for everyone to dig deep because it’s bigger than ourselves,” she explained.
“For them to dig deep and show that in two penalty shootouts, two extra times, losing our first game, working our way back — it was, for me, character. That’s something they’ll hold onto forever. That’s exactly the lesson I’ve wanted to leave them.”
As she hangs up her gloves, Palacios leaves behind more than trophies; she leaves a blueprint for the next generation of “little girls and little boys” who want to pursue sports in the Philippines.
“I just believe,” she said. “I just want them to know that whenever they put in their heads, in their minds, in their hearts, into something, it’s something they can achieve.
“I think my main lesson is that anything they want to achieve, they can achieve because I’ve seen them. I’ve experienced it. That’s the true heart of a Filipino, and I think that’s special. (I mean) Who ends their career with a gold?”
When asked how she wants to be remembered, Palacios didn’t point to her international success or her four UAAP Best Goalkeeper awards at De La Salle University.
Instead, the 31-year-old chose to be remembered for the love she poured into the game.
“Just a person who loved deeply, a person who chooses love and passion even if it’s hard, and someone who believed,” she said.
“When you love something, love it with all your heart because when you do, things will love you back. It may take time, but after 18 years, I can tell you it’s worth it.”
