Luis Suarez is no longer alone. 61 years since the legend won the European Ballon d'Or, Alexia Putellas has become the second Spanish player to be honored. And coincidentally, the 27-year-old girl is also a midfielder, and also received the award while wearing a Barca shirt.
In 1960, Suarez was honored by France Football magazine for helping Barca win La Liga and the Fair Cup. 61 years later, another member of the Catalan football team was honored. And after the 2020/21 season in which the Barca women's team won all possible titles, from the La Liga championship, the Queen's Cup to the Champions League, it was completely deserved for Alexia to be named at the gala night in Paris. .
Because this 27-year-old midfielder is not only the leader with the captain's armband in his hand, but also the brain of the Barca women's team. The girl who was compared with Xavi by CEO Markel Zubizarreta always knows how to make a mark at important moments. Alexia scored twice in the Queen's Cup match against Levante, and contributed a goal from 11 meters in the Champions League final against Chelsea.
That is why the captain of the Barca women's team surpassed teammate Jennifer Hermoso and Chelsea striker Sam Kerr to win the Ballon d'Or with overwhelming scores. Before that, she was also honored by a series of individual honors from the Champions League Best Midfielder 2020/21, UEFA Women's Player of the Year 2020/21 and the 2021 UEFA Player of the Year. IFFHS. But to have that recognition, Alexia had to overcome many challenges.
At the age of 12, Alexia was forced to leave Barca because at that time, the club did not have a women's team at this age. The girl born in the Vallès Oriental region of Catalunya had to transfer to Espanyol's training academy, before moving to Levante in 2011. Although she had only been with the Valencia women's team for one season, this is the period. important to Alexia's career, as she matured a lot in a rare professional environment of women's football.
Impressive performance in the Levante shirt helped Alexia return to Barca. And here, the next turning point came for this girl. Realizing that Alexia had technical and smart play but was weak in fitness, former coach Xavi Llorens pulled her from the wing to the center of midfield. Then in Xavi's position, this midfielder shone brightly and became a mainstay of both the Barca women's team and the Spain women's team.
Current Barca women's coach, Jonathan Giráldez, recalls: "When I was first pulled into the center of midfield, Alexia asked me about the style of Amadine Henry, the captain of the French women's team and the monument of Lyon club. She wants to learn about positioning, defensive assists, one-on-one balls and set pieces.” It was this demanding attitude that helped Alexia grow up quickly in her new position, and then reached the pinnacle of her career with the Golden Ball title. And now, as Mr. Giráldez commented, perhaps Henry himself will have to learn from Alexia.
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