Alexia Putellas: How a little girl from Camp Nou became a football immortal

The communicative starts astatine Camp Nou. Long earlier 91,553 radical would chant her sanction successful awe and reverence successful adjacent parts, a starry-eyed six-year-old miss walked into the stadium with her father.

The travel from her location took little than an hr successful the car. Her eyes followed the men successful blaugrana; the bluish and heavy reddish stripes that represented her puerility club. At location and successful school, she ne'er fto spell of the ball. Her parents, the archetypal of millions to admit her emotion and imaginable for the sport, enrolled her successful training. A fewer years down the line, 11-year-old Alexia Putellas joined La Masia, the younker academy of FC Barcelona, the nine of her dreams.In 2012, astir a period aft her father’s passing, Alexia returned to Barcelona aft starting her elder vocation astatine Espanyol and a abbreviated stint astatine Levante. She was a prima signing of an overlooked women’s squad that lacked adjacent a dedicated grooming pitch, 1 looking to physique itself from the crushed up. The squad that the past 18-year-old took connected her shoulders.

The miss who belonged to Camp Nou

A decennary rolled on. She was bowing down successful solemnisation successful beforehand of a record-breaking assemblage of 91,553 astatine the Camp Nou, the largest stadium successful Europe, who chanted her sanction successful awe and reverence successful adjacent parts.

She had conscionable scored against eternal rivals Real Madrid successful the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the highest signifier of competitory nine football.“Alexia, Alexia, Alexia” was the collective, rhythmic telephone that echoed wrong the stadium.About an hr earlier, arsenic the metropolis of Barcelona had hummed with anticipation, Barca Femení were acceptable to play their archetypal crippled astatine Camp Nou successful beforehand of a crowd. As the players walked into the stadium, Alexia, the captain, was archetypal successful line; arsenic she ever was, successful each matters of the club. The stands were coloured by the bluish and acheronian reddish hues of FC Barcelona and the yellowish and reds of Catalunya. ‘More than Empowerment,’ work the mosaic—a rallying outcry that had followed the squad passim the season.It was the largest assemblage that the stadium had recorded each season: 5,000 much than the assemblage that had been contiguous for the Men’s Clasico. To comprehend the standard of the turnout, 1 indispensable retrieve that Estadi Johan Cruyff, the regular location crushed of the women’s team, is simply a 6,000-capacity stadium.

Not adjacent the Real Madrid players wanted to permission Camp Nou aft they had lost. At the bosom of it each was Alexia, who led the celebrations connected drums portion she sang on with the assemblage and her teammates.

When Barcelona Femení conquered Europe

A twelvemonth prior, she had led her nine to a treble aft winning their archetypal Women’s Champions League rubric successful past by defeating Chelsea successful the last by 4 goals. In the aftermath of the triumph, she became the archetypal Spanish Ballon d’Or victor since 1960. It was followed by a pathbreaking 2021-22 play from the nine with unparalleled unbeaten runs, lone to extremity successful tears arsenic they failed to champion the formidable Olympique Lyonnais Féminin. The UWCL trophy could not beryllium theirs successful 2022, but Alexia became the archetypal subordinate to triumph the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year grant and the Ballon d’Or Féminin successful consecutive years. Her idiosyncratic brilliance did not necessitate a treble to beryllium recognized.On July 6, 2022, FC Barcelona announced that Alexia had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament successful her near genu portion grooming with the Spanish nationalist squad up of the Euros. She was sidelined for astir a twelvemonth arsenic she underwent country and grappled with 1 of the astir challenging and devastating injuries successful the sport.Returning from injury, she won a 2nd UWCL alongside her team. Yet, the complications from her injuries followed her.

Alexia could not play without symptom and discomfort. She had to acquisition an arthroscopic process successful December 2023.Still successful an unsettled presumption aft her semipermanent injury, Alexia had started connected the seat successful the 2024 UWCL final. She was brought connected successful the 92nd infinitesimal with Barcelona protecting a one-goal lead. It took her hardly a mates of minutes connected the transportation to occurrence a superb left-footed changeable into the top-left country of the net. It sealed the triumph arsenic Bilbao’s San Mamés Stadium erupted successful celebration. Olympique Lyonnais, the squad they someway could not get the amended of for years, had yet been bested.

The last bow of a trailblazer

Alexia leaves arsenic the astir decorated subordinate successful the past of FC Barcelona, with 38 trophies, galore of which she lifted portion donning the captain’s armband. With much than 230 goals successful implicit 500 appearances, the 32-year-old midfielder is the highest scorer successful the past of the women’s team.It volition beryllium a disservice to the skipper to simply measurement her bequest done trophies and awards. Her communicative goes beyond tangible metrics of success; it is besides the enthralling mode she plays—her superb archetypal touch, captivating playmaking and lethal finish, the mode the stadium holds its enactment erstwhile she has the ball, the information that radical often acquisition a summons conscionable to ticker her play.Most importantly, her communicative is besides astir the mode she became a relation exemplary for young girls successful sports, 1 that she ne'er had herself.

Her communicative is 1 of a trailblazer.With misty eyes, a 2nd quadruple and a caput that could not perchance beryllium held higher, Alexia did her signature bow for the past clip successful blaugrana colours arsenic her communicative with FC Barcelona ended past week. Her legacy, however, has been etched successful history. It volition unrecorded connected until the athletics does.