Barca women show mental grit to conquer Europe
Barcelona displayed their mental growth as they conquered Europe for the second time with a stunning comeback victory over Wolfsburg in the women’s Champions League final.
After suffering a defeat labelled “traumatic” by captain Alexia Putellas against Lyon in last season’s final, Jonatan Giraldez’s side seemed to be collapsing again in the season’s showpiece event in Eindhoven.
However, Patri Guijarro’s brace and Fridolina Rolfo’s winner helped the Catalans triumph 3-2 at the PSV Stadium, with a remarkable second-half turnaround showing they have progressed to the next level.
Coach Giraldez said that kind of steely mentality was something the team had been working on attaining this season.
“In football there are sometimes more important things, it’s not enough just to play well,” he said. “Today, character was key. They did not let themselves sink. They came out with an incredible attitude and that is important.
“We have worked on that through the season, that in the bad moments you have to give the best version of yourself.”
Defeat would have been a big setback, with the club determined to dominate women’s football, reaching four of the last five finals.
Barcelona played their first Champions League final in 2019, when Lyon steamrollered them 4-1, netting four goals inside the first 30 minutes.
They won their second in 2021, inflicting the same misery on Chelsea – hitting four by the 36th minute.
Last season it was their turn to collapse against Lyon, conceding three in the first 33 minutes, with Putellas pulling one back in a 3-1 defeat.
After Ewa Pajor and Alexandra Popp struck early on for Tommy
Stroot’s Wolfsburg, history seemed to be repeating itself.
Barcelona’s mentality is not the same now, though, with the club taking steps forward each year, as record eight-time winners Lyon did in the 2010s.
Defender Lucy Bronze made a mistake for Wolfsburg’s first, losing the ball under pressure from
Pajor, who finished well. But she said her team always believed in themselves to come back.
“I don’t think we were ever worried about scoring three goals, which is a crazy feat, and that’s the talent of this team,” Bronze said.
Giraldez hailed Bronze’s ability to brush off her mistake.
“One of the most important things after making a mistake is how you react,” he said.
“Some players can go down [in morale], Lucy’s reaction was magnificent.”
Player of the match Guijarro said coming from two goals down was “so difficult”, but praised the team’s mental strength.
A superstition called the “theory of two” was shared by Barcelona fans in the lead up to the game, with the players also discussing it among themselves.
The theory supposedly indicated Barcelona were going to win the Champions League because it was their second, while Putellas has two Ballons d’Or and the game was two years after their last triumph, among other lighthearted “two” related reasons.
“With the theory of two, it set our minds in the way they should be,” Guijarro said.
“These are things that don’t make you win, but they give you a vibe and a connection with your teammates, it adds something.”