The European dream of a whole city: "There are players to achieve it"

BadalonaThis Sunday, Badalona Women kicks off an exciting season at Athletic Club's ground (12 p.m., Esport3). Marc Ballester's team has not hidden its ambition at any time, and the transfer market –led by the Mercury13 investment fund– has served to bring in eight new faces: Vicky Losada, Sheila Guijarro, Mirari Uria, Izarne Sarasola, Lucía Martínez, Kalu Chianyere, Txell Font, and Lauri Requena, who, in the hours before officially debuting with the turquoise and white colors, spoke to ARA at the Municipal de Badalona. "The adaptation has been better than I expected. I fit in perfectly with the team on and off the field. I love the city and I live near the beach, which I always wanted," she assures.

After a great year, the Badalona club wants to continue growing in the F League. "We are ready to fight against any team in the League. We have to go step by step, but we shouldn't close ourselves off to any objective," confesses Requena (Cabdet, Albacete, 1990), who doesn't shy away from talking about the Champions League dream. “I won't tell you no. There are players to achieve it, but it's an objective set by day-to-day work. If this team decides that it not only has to compete on weekends, but also every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday… I think it can be a beautiful goal,” she points out.

In fact, there is already a European champion in the squad, Vicky Losada. “I knew her from the lower categories of the Spanish national team, and it's a privilege to coincide with her again. She's a twelve-player and a fourteen-person,” says Lauri, as Laura Requena is known, who is also one of the veteran footballers of the team. “My role is to help people, to be an example. I am very hardworking day-to-day and I try to make the people next to me also strive,” she explains, while also praising the locker room that has been formed in Badalona: “There is very good synergy and connections. I hope this translates onto the field”.

Another of the factors that favor Marc Ballester's team is that they will return to Badalona to play their home league matches. The installation of natural grass – an indispensable requirement to compete in the First Women's Division – is progressing at a good pace, and in the coming weeks they could return home and leave behind Palamós, where they played last season. “Hopefully we can achieve that more people come every weekend who feel represented by the city. It can be very beautiful,” says Lauri, who last season played in Badalona the Copa de la Reina tie and in Palamós the Liga F match with Granada.

Precisely Requena left the Andalusian team this summer after thirteen seasons wearing the white and red jersey. “I was very happy. I was one of the key players and I felt very comfortable, but there are times when life asks you for changes. I think I have made the right decision, not only for the adaptation, but also for the people I have met here. Granada will always be my home and I am very grateful to them,” recalls the footballer with the most matches played for the Andalusian team (361).

A life tied to football

Lauri started playing football at 7 or 8 years old for her town's team, El Cabdet (Albacete). “I remember running after a ball when I was taking my first steps. When my brother trained, I would come down and be with the ball. One day the coach told me to train with them and, since then, I haven't stopped trying to achieve my dream: to be a professional footballer. I am grateful to have trusted my journey and never given up,” recounts the player.

Connected to football from a very young age, Requena cannot imagine a future away from it. “I always wanted to be a physical education teacher, because women's football was not as professionalized before. Today I am clear, when I retire, which I hope to prolong as much as possible, I want to do something that helps women's football grow in Spain. I'm not closing doors to anything, but I love sports management, how it works in the League, in the Federation…,” she advances.

With many years in the League, the Castilian-La Mancha player considers that the competition is at a very sweet point, considering where it comes from, but that there is still work to be done. “Anything that brings us closer to what is seen in England or the United States will be bringing us closer to professionalism, but La Liga F tries every year to give a boost to women's football. And I think it is succeeding”. However, audiovisual rights are one of the points for improvement. “For me it is a privilege that every weekend my family and friends have the option to see us on television. It is important for us, especially so as not to lose the visibility that is being given to women's football,” she adds.