On Christmas Day 1970, Barcelona Women played at the Nou Camp for the first time. They weren’t known as Barcelona Women then, neither did they play under the same colours or badge as the men’s side, but the match between the team known as Selecció Ciutat Barcelona and Unió Esportiva Centelles was played in front of a crowd of 60,000.
The team have played at the Nou Camp just once since - a league game, held behind closed doors due to Covid-19, against city rivals Espanyol in January 2021 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the fixture. If the occasion lacked the atmosphere of the one that preceded it, it’s fair to say the third match to be held at the Nou Camp will help make up for lost time.
Tonight, Barcelona Women play Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. It is set to shatter the record attendance for a women’s club match, with 75,000 tickets snapped up within days of the knockout draw being made. If the release of additional tickets has been greeted with the same enthusiasm, it could also break the record for a women’s match in Europe, held by the 2012 Olympic final between the United States and Japan that topped 80,000 at Wembley.
If any team was to break the record in 2022, it’s fitting that it would be Barcelona. Since taking the European crown from Lyon as part of their treble-winning campaign last season, they have gone as close to achieving perfection as any other side in Europe. This campaign, their Primera Division record stands at played 26, won 26, scored 138, conceded seven. A third league title in a row was wrapped up with six games to spare, sealed with a 5-0 win over Madrid. They have lost just one league match in three seasons.
On the continental front, their progression to the last eight of the Champions League included two humblings of Arsenal, the leaders of the Women’s Super League, to go along with the thrashing of English champions Chelsea in last year’s final. They are clear favourites to defend their title this season. That Madrid scored in the first leg was a surprise. Barcelona are set to cruise through this evening, taking a 3-1 lead into the second leg.
There are, on the face of it and given the half-time scoreline, bigger games to come this season for Barcelona, but there are no bigger stages than the Nou Camp. It is why, despite the team’s success and for all of the titles, cups and wins picked up along the way, for the players of Barcelona Femeni the occasion is set will rank as highly as any in their careers. There can be no greater appreciation than a full Nou Camp, decked out in blue, red and gold.
For Alexia Putellas, the star of the team and the Ballon D’Or and Fifa Best holder, it was a sight she grew up with. Born in Catalonia, the Clasicos against Real Madrid were the biggest nights of the season, and she was there to see Ronaldinho and Eto’o and then Messi, Iniesta and Xavi take the applause without ever thinking she could one day be there herself. Putellas, who signed for Barcelona in 2012, three years before the club turned professional, is the embodiment of their organic growth.
Although just an ounce of the budget of the men’s team could have assembled an all-star cast of some of the best players in Europe, Barca’s development was not rushed through. It was authentic. The academy would be used to develop talent and the players were coached how to play possession-based football in a 4-3-3 system.
It helped create the core of the current team. Putellas, an all-rounder in midfield with an astonishing goal record, controls play alongside Aitana Bonmati, Patri Guijarro and the false nine Jennifer Hermoso. Irene Paredes and Mapi Leon complete the Spanish spine and build moves from defence. In attack, they have added some of the world’s best forwards in Lieke Martens, Caroline Graham Hansen and Asisat Oshoala. From front to back, they are emphatically Barca.
Losing to Lyon in the Champions League final and finishing second to Atletico Madrid in the league in 2019 strengthened their resolve. To the technique and tactics, a fierce determination was added. They have not looked back since.
“They are an example,” Xavi, whose task is to return the men’s team to the same standards, has said. In an era where they have drifted further and further from the Barcelona ethos, Barcelona Femeni have been the opposite, a true representative of Catalonia: Més que un club.
"For several years they have been showing us the way with how they play, how they compete and the hunger they have despite winning everything last year,” Xavi added. ”We have been watching them and it’s a wonder to see them play. They are leading the way in the same way as the Dream Team did in their day, or as Pep’s Barca side did later.” Tonight the stage will be the same.
