The extraordinary normality of the women's Barça

BarcelonaImagining a women's Champions League without Barça, nowadays is —practically— unthinkable. The blue-and-red club, which has played seven of the last eight finals that have been played, is the great dominator of the European scene. A normality, however, that has not been happening for long, since the culé team debuted in the Champions League on September 26, 2012.

It was against Arsenal, the rival this Thursday at Camp Nou (18:45, TV3). "There was excitement, but also nerves because it was the first time that the Champions League was played in Barcelona," recalls Marta Unzué to ARA, one of the footballers who was present that day at the Miniestadi, the stage where a match was played that ended in an English victory by 0 to 3. Around 1,300 people attended the clash, which was the seed of the current team. "At that moment it was the maximum, it seemed to us as if we were filling the Camp Nou," points out Meli Nicolau, who was also a starter with Barça.

Since then, the blaugrana side has not missed a single edition of the Women's Champions League. Led by Xavi Llorens, Esther Sullastres, Laura Gómez, Melanie Serrano, Miriam Diéguez, Virginia Torrecilla, Alexia Putellas, Marta Corredera, Sonia Bermúdez, and Carol Férez accompanied Meli Nicolau and Marta Unzué in a historic starting eleven. "It was a big deal, they could give you a few ideas about Arsenal, but then we saw they were like airplanes. For us, it was a prize for having won the League and we went to enjoy the experience. We didn't look any further," recounts Nicolau.

A change of mentality

All of this was part of a journey that has led Barça to win four Champions Leagues and dominate the national scene. "When I arrived, they had recently been promoted to the First Division. At that time, there was a pessimistic mentality, that Barça could not be a reference team," recalls Nicolau. "The fact of managing to play in the Champions League for several years and winning titles led to a moment when the club committed to it. It was a buildup of seasons, of achieving success," adds Unzué.

The conditions are also radically different. In 2012, the women's team was not a professional section of Barça—it didn't become one until 2015—and the players trained late in the evening. Now, the Blaugrana footballers are completely professional and training sessions take place in the morning, just as it happens with the men's team. Proof of this growth is the more than 24,000 people who will gather at the Camp Nou this Thursday to watch the Barça-Arsenal match. If fulfilled, it will be the attendance record this season in the women's Champions League, surpassing the 11,207 people who attended the Paris FC - Arsenal match. From the club, they explain to l'ARA that they hope to reach 30,000 people.

Arsenal, moreover, was also the executioner of the Blaugranes in the Lisbon final in 2025, the last one the culers lost. A solitary goal by Stina Blackstenius in the 74th minute prevented them from winning the third consecutive Champions League and ended the dream of Pere Romeu, who was able to remove the thorn on May 23rd with the final won in Oslo against Olympique Lyonnais (4-0). "This team does not need to remember the past to have motivation," said Aitana Bonmatí in the pre-match press conference. "They are the same crests, but different teams. We have grown as a team and they have different players," added Romeu.

Tributes before the match

Barça will also take advantage of the match to pay tribute to Marta Torrejón, Vicky López, Cata Coll and Pere Romeu. The day of mourning last weekend—due to the death of footballer Jesús de Miguel—prevented the ceremonies from being held at the Johan Cruyff stadium during the match against Madrid CFF (5-1). The club postponed the celebrations to this Thursday, but was waiting for UEFA's approval to be able to do so before the clash. As ARA has learned, this approval has arrived and the tributes will be held before the Barça-Arsenal match.

Thus, Marta Torrejón –who was already playing in the First Division when Barça debuted in the Champions League in 2012, albeit with Espanyol– will receive the commemorative jersey for having reached 500 matches as a blaugrana. Only Melanie Serrano (517) and Alexia Putellas (508) –who also received the tribute at the Camp Nou for her 500 matches– have played more official matches with Barça. On the other hand, the culer entity will recognize the footballers awarded at the Ballon d'Or gala, where the blaugrana team was the great protagonist with awards for Vicky López, best young player, Cata Coll, best goalkeeper, and Pere Romeu, best coach.