Sydney Schertenleib, the rising star who delights Lamine Yamal

BarcelonaSydney Schertenleib (Zurich, 2007) is the big name of this start of the season for Barça. The Swiss footballer has taken the step forward that Pere Romeu demanded so much and has taken advantage of the injury absences to consolidate her place in the starting eleven. She has been a starter in the eight matches that the 'blaugranes' have played so far, the last one in the 'Clásico' against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou, with a goal included (7-0). "When you shoot you don't think much, you just do it," she confessed after the duel.

The Swiss player arrived at Barça in the summer of 2024 to join the reserve team after receiving a message via Instagram. "I went to Italy to scout Giulia Dragoni [a footballer who also wore the blue and garnet jersey] at the U-17 European Championship and Switzerland caught my attention, especially Sydney. She stood out for her presence and her level of coordination, technique, and associative capacity. It must be remembered that she was not yet of age to be signed," explains people who were on the work team that brought her to Barça.

"Later, despite still being under-17, she was called up to the under-19s, where she played a match against Spain. There we saw that, despite being smaller, she stood out quite a bit and we agreed that we had to try to sign her. Since I couldn't find her agent, I wrote to her on Instagram. It took a few days until they talked about it at home and they gave us the number of her father and a family friend who had participated in the organization of the Barça Academy camps in Switzerland", they add when explaining what is already a very well-known story.

After the initial explosion with Romeu –a fact that allowed her to receive a first-team contract in the summer of 2025–, Schertenleib began to lose prominence, to the point that she was relegated to the background and surpassed by players like Clara Serrajordi, who in her first season at the elite level outperformed the Swiss player. "Her shyness and the fact of suddenly finding herself training with the best players in the world may have made her adaptation take a little longer," assure people who have dealt with her.

However, the footballer did not end up disappearing from the team's match dynamics and kept adding minutes, as the quality was there and, sooner or later, it had to come out. The large number of injuries that Barça has had at the beginning of this season reopened the door to the starting lineup for Schertenleib, who this time did not waste it. Despite being a midfielder –she has also played as a winger–, Romeu bet on her to cover the absences in defense. "We have a game idea that comes before any name, but as a coach, you have to adapt to the qualities of each player. Even though Sydney has never played as a right-back before, she has characteristics and qualities that allow her to adapt to our type of game," the coach pointed out.

Romeu surprised everyone by placing her in this position against Atlético de Madrid given the injuries to Renee van Asten, Irene Paredes and Laia Aleixandri and the call-up of Aïcha Camara, Noa Jiménez and Carla Julià to the Spanish under-20 national team. Her good performance has allowed her to be seen in this area of the pitch in several matches. "Playing in the defensive line has meant that I have had to mature very quickly and have acquired a higher degree of responsibility," the coach assessed. "I am very happy with the coach's trust. I have trained in different positions and I feel comfortable on the pitch," the player admitted. The great physical improvement has also been key in her progression, as noted by one of the clubs where she was trained, the Swiss Grasshopper. "She has always been a very technical player with an attacking mentality," they point out.

A celebration in the style of Lamine Yamal

In the Clásico, furthermore, Schertenleib took on an even greater dimension after scoring the 7-0 in the rout of Real Madrid. The Swiss footballer found the back of the net after a great shot from the edge of the area that went right into the top corner. Beyond the goal, however, the surprise came after the match. Schertenleib celebrated the goal at the corner flag by imitating Lamine Yamal. An image that the Blaugrana player shared in a post on her Instagram and that the Barça number 10 reposted to his stories.

The connection between the men's and women's teams seems stronger every day. The first team players often attend the Camp Nou to watch their teammates, while Raphinha and Kerolin have exchanged several public messages of praise. Furthermore, Hansi Flick also visited a women's training session last season and was able to exchange some opinions with Pere Romeu. A positive coexistence for all parties, but one that still needs to be further reinforced.