BarcelonaEurope surrenders again at the feet of Alexia Putellas. For the second year in a row, the Barça captain received the award as the continent’s best player at the great UEFA gala held in Istanbul. For the first time in history, a soccer player repeats as winner, and it is no coincidence that the trophy has Mollet de Vallès’ name engraved on it. Alexia has been, since women’s football began to break prejudices, the visible face of the whole movement. She has led the revolution on and off the turf. Despite the painful defeat in the final of the Champions League, the culer captain scored 11 goals in this tournament, which made her the top scorer.
Being the leader of the expansion of women’s football is not futile. The emotional burden linked to a dream that she had not even imagined as possible is difficult for the Catalan to manage. It is not easy to understand that the limits of what was believable have been crossed and that the girl who used to go to the Camp Nou with a Club Super 3 snort is now a world icon. “With great power comes great responsibility,” said the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Few quotes are more appropriate for the moment that the emblem culer is living. Alexia has become much more than an athlete, a footballer or a person. The aura of exceptionality that surrounds her and that encourages many other girls, women and girls to follow her fills her with pride while putting a huge spotlight on her.
“My role [en el creixement del futbol femení] is the same as that of the team. My thanks to all my colleagues, thestaff and the workers at both Barça and the Spanish national team, because they help me to improve every day. I don’t do anything but do the best I can and try to get people excited. I really want to be able to do it again,” explained Alexia on stage while collecting the award. Excited and grateful, she wanted to make it clear that she, despite being the visible face of change, has collected an award that it’s the reward for working together.” The two games at the Camp Nou were very special. I fulfilled a dream that all culers and now all culers can have, which is to play in a full Camp Nou”, he added.
His love affair with the ball began when he barely lifted a piece of dirt: first from the stands, then on the grass. Little Alexia was going to see her idols in the Blaugrana temple on the bus from the Blaugrana club in Mollet. In those trips he discovered his love for football and for the colors that now have it as a badge. He walked down the Camp Nou steps to sit in his seat, eyes like oranges absorbing everything in front of him. She was fascinated, as it could not be otherwise. This innocent and pure love for colors is only felt by the little ones, those who understand that the ball is the center of the show. Enjoy, have a good time, celebrate goals with your hands up and be amazed by your peers, peers who didn’t know that each of her actions was shaping the great soccer player that Alexia Putellas is today.
A life stuck on the ball
This little girl in love with football grew up, burning through formative stages, until reaching the first team of Barça, the club of her life. There are still many things left of that little girl who always signed up for the games in the town hall square and who brought her singing voice to the school yard. The courage to make the ball her own, to dare against everyone and everything, is still very much present in the midfielder, whether in a game at Johan Cruyff or in a Champions League final. Resilience has been the backbone of all those brave women who decided to face a world reserved for men with a ball at their feet. Now, despite being the global representative of this change, Alexia is fighting her own particular battle.
Alexia hasn’t set foot on the green in months in shorts and boots. The injury that has mortified women’s sport, the torn cruciate ligament, struck her hours before Spain made their long-awaited Euro debut. The blow was brutal. After a few days of rest, she underwent surgery and, since then, the captain has focused all her energies on returning as soon as she can, but without taking any unnecessary risks. “She is very well. She has very good feelings in everything”, they say from the environment of the player. The recovery time is long, about ten months as the ARA advanced at the time of the injury, but you need to go with lead feet to be able to return with guarantees. “I’m very happy to get this award for the second year in a row, especially at the moment, when I can’t do what I love most. Next year will be difficult, but I’m looking forward to playing and training again. I’m recovering- me day by day”, explained the protagonist with the trophy in her hands.
The best player in Europe will have to support her teammates from the stands at least until the month of May, but she will not stop being involved in the day-to-day of the team. Ever present, aware of every detail, Alexia continues her personal struggle as Europe once again surrenders to her talent and hopes that she will be kicking her boots again soon.
