Sandra Paños: “I wish Patri Guijarro is the next Ballon d'Or"

BarcelonaBarça Women has grown thanks to Alexia Putellas, Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmatí…, but also thanks to Sandra Paños (Alicante, 1992). The goalkeeper, who was at the blue and garnet club between 2015 and 2024, was a key figure in the growth and consolidation of the Catalan entity in the European elite. Now, after winning the league and the Concacaf Champions with Mexico's América, she is experiencing a new challenge in the United States with the San Diego Wave. “I was leaving my comfort zone, but I am enjoying it a lot,” explains Paños to the ARA on the verge of playing the play-offs of the North American league.

Paños remembers with nostalgia the nine years at Barça. “It is where I have grown the most, both personally and professionally, and I am very proud to have been part of all the growth,” reviews the goalkeeper, who arrived at the club in 2015 after frustrated attempts by Xavi Llorens –then Barça coach– to sign her previously. “I was at Levante and, before the World Cup in Canada, I felt that I needed a change. I had gone through all the youth categories of the Spanish national team and something was needed to continue growing.” “The project was incredible and thanks to Xavi Llorens I was able to live my best sporting years there. All the people who were there that year did a great job so that the women’s team could grow,” adds the woman from Alicante.

A final to change the mindset

Barça continued to grow under the guidance of Sandra Paños, and in 2019 it achieved its first major milestone: reaching the Champions League final in Budapest. To achieve this, however, Paños once again played a fundamental role, with a save at the Mini Estadi against Bayern Munich in the second leg of the semi-finals. In the final, there was no contest, and Olympique Lyon was already winning 4-0 half an hour into the match. “It was a disappointment because we went in wanting to stand our ground. We were facing a team with a lot of experience; they were very calm, and we had the nerves of the first final. That took its toll on us,” she admits. “It helped us make changes; we were not up to the level of the final. With time, I think it was positive because it made us reflect on the fact that if we wanted to go down in history, we had to make a very big change in mentality,” she asserts.

A growth that was football-related –winning the Champions League in 2021–, but also social, with a packed Camp Nou that set a new historic attendance record (91,648 people). “Everything sounds very different from any other stadium, it cannot be described. Sometimes you would see the players, but because the whole crowd was wearing the same shirt it could interfere with your vision. I hope all Barça players can experience it because it is an incredible feeling. It is important to continue setting the benchmark for equality with the boys,” she states.

The loneliness of the goal

The goalkeeper position is a very lonely and unique one. Usually, roles are very well defined and, while one tends to be the starter, the other goalkeeper is a substitute throughout the year. Paños experienced both sides of the coin with Cata Coll. The player from Alicante, who started as the starter, saw how she lost her position to the Balearic keeper, currently on the first team. “Cata is very good. When she arrived, I was more established and it is normal that she wanted to play more, but she respected me quite a bit. Obviously, you don’t like it and something similar happened to me when she started playing more, but always with personal and team support,” she confesses.

“I knew the quality she had and how far she could go. I am very happy for Cata, because her growth has also helped the club continue to win titles,” adds Paños, who sent her a message to congratulate her on the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper won on Monday. “It is the recognition of the whole journey she has made. I am proud to have shared a dressing room with her because she made me better.”

The figures of Pere Romeu and Alexia Putellas

Another of Paños' teammates was Alexia Putellas, who last Monday won her third Ballon d'Or. "What she has achieved is stratospheric, she is a fundamental figure to explain everything that has happened at Barça. Very happy for her, for everything she has fought for. For me, the winners were Patri [Guijarro] or Alexia and the ideal thing was for Ale [as Alexia Putellas is known] to be able to close the circle in this way. Patri has been at a very high level for years and hopefully she will be the future Ballon d'Or winner," asks Paños.

The goalkeeper also coincided with Pere Romeu, who at that time was one of Jonatan Giráldez's assistants. “He has an incredible ability to understand the game. All the players were amazed by the vision he had. He is a very approachable coach who knows how to manage the group and helps the players to keep growing and evolving,” she describes.

Life in the United States

For a few months now, the woman from Alicante has been living a new life in San Diego (California). "It is a very quiet city with a climate similar to Barcelona, it is very sunny, but it is true that here you need a car to live. I find the buses very funny, since they are the typical yellow ones that appeared in The Simpsons," explains Paños, who lives alone. "Sara [Mérida, her wife] is working in the youth categories of the Spanish Federation. Unfortunately, we do not live together, but we know it is to grow professionally. It is tough, but these are processes and I do not want to hinder her professional growth," she confesses.