England's Euro 2022 star Kiera Walsh says she is relishing the chance to play at Camp Nou for the first time on Thursday, praising the passion as “next level”.
The 25-year-old midfielder joined Barcelona this summer from Manchester City for a world-record fee in the women’s game and is set to experience the famous Camp Nou atmosphere when the Barcelona women’s team play at the stadium for the first time this season when they host Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Walsh has experienced playing in some of the world’s biggest stadiums, including a sold-out Wembley for the Lionesses ’ Euro 2022 triumph over Germany. But Walsh, who caught a glimpse of what the Camp Nou has on offer when watching the men’s team play, believes the atmosphere will be unrivalled.
“I’d never experienced a football match like that before,” she said. “The passion was next level.”
Walsh became the world’s most expensive female player when she joined the Spanish giants for a whopping £400,000 transfer fee in the summer. Walsh was courted by a number of clubs, including Chelsea, but her father told her to endeavour to play for Barcelona.
Despite the selection help, her father will not be in attendance for Thursday night’s match.
“He won’t be at the game as he has to work. I think he took too much time off when I was out here originally, helping me settle in,” Walsh said.
"I'm not sure my mum would let him, but he'll definitely be watching on TV. He was massive in me coming here. He's always watched Spanish football and appreciated it. Man City weren't so great when I was younger, so he would always make me watch Barcelona."
Walsh was among a slew of Lionesses to move abroad this summer, including England and former City teammate Lucy Bronze who also traded for Manchester for the 2021 Champions League winners.
And on Thursday, the pair will face a familiar face in England and former City teammate Georgia Stanway, who moved to Bayern in the summer.
"I don't think I've ever played against her, even when we played together at Blackburn," Walsh said.
"You obviously do in training, but it's not the same. We know a lot about each other, I'm not going to be allowing any shots from her, she likes to shoot a lot.
"It's exciting for both of us, we've moved clubs to play Champions League football so this will be a special occasion.”
Both teams have won their opening two Champions League group matches and will harbour high expectations for their tournament run.
And Walsh has had to work hard to ensure that her efforts on the pitch match those expectations.
"There were times I thought I need to step up my level," she said.
"When you come into a club like this, it feels more like a culture. There were times I felt I needed to up my game a little bit, but I feel settled now, and that's down to the coaches and the girls."
Walsh admits that her Mancunian accent came with its own challenges, but Walsh acknowledged that the club has made every effort to guarantee as smooth a transition as possible.
She admitted: "Communicating at the beginning was hard, I've had to speak a lot more slowly and use less slang I would normally use.
"I have a translator practically stood next to me at every training session - little things like that, they don't leave me guessing, they help me understand analysis and things like that. They make me feel comfortable, and if I feel like that off the pitch it will translate into games."
Barcelona kick-off against Bayern Munich at 5:45pm.
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