Arsenal-Barça: Where the revolution began

The history of Barça women's team is full of turning points that have allowed the Blaugrana team to be a pioneer in breaking barriers. One of those first turning points occurred 13 years ago, in 2012. That Barça, which trained at night when they finished, had to take their shirts home to wash them, ate sandwiches on the buses that transported them all over Spain, and had a coaching staff made up of two people, won a league title and the right to participate in the Champions League for the first time in its history.

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The first opponent was Arsenal. “The team is really eager to make its debut and make history in the Women's Champions League,” said a young Alexia. The current captain and only remaining player from that team, she played on the left wing at 18. “Everything leads you to become what you really are today. In that first match, everything that has come after was unthinkable. The change and the evolution are incredible. I feel privileged to have been able to enjoy this journey,” Alexia reflected yesterday.

Because today, 13 years later, Arsenal will once again be Barça's opponent. But not in the round of 32. It will be in Lisbon, in the sixth European final for a Barça captained by Alexia and with three European titles to their name. Now Barça is the opponent to beat.

Arsenal 7- Barça 0 The story of 2012

The complete opposite of 2012. The English team, who were already professionals, thrashed the Barcelona team, who were still very amateur, 7-0 on aggregate. No one was surprised. Arsenal had already won a Champions League title in 2007, also their last to date. But Barça rallied. And after losing, they achieved the first improvements described in this report by Xavi Llorens, their coach, and the players from that team, Marta Corredera, Olga Garcia, Laura Ràfols, Marta Unzué, and Esther Sullastres.

“Everything has changed a lot. I experienced the tie against Arsenal like a celebration. In 2012, it was what Spanish players dreamed of: playing in the Champions League,” recalls Xavi Llorens, a coach who managed Barcelona for a whopping 11 seasons. “In the end, Barça was like a piece of candy for the rest of the team. Now, nobody wants it,” reflects Olga Garcia, another of the club's historic forwards. “Perhaps it came a little too soon, given the level of European football and the level we were at, but that also served as a goal for improvement,” acknowledges Marta Unzué, one of the defenders on that Barça team, now with Athletic Club.

At that time, Barça was the sweetheart everyone wanted, but now it's the opposite." Olga Garcia

The first ever European match was played at the Miniestadi. Barça conceded three goals and didn't score a single one. "I remember that maybe 1,500 people came, which was already a lot for us. And we saw those enormous players. We were very small, physically weak," recalls Marta Corredera, a forward who scored Barça's first ever European goal against Danish side Brøndby the following year and later played for Arsenal.

The 2012 match came early due to the level of competition in Europe, but it served to improve.” Marta Unzué

Xavi Llorens wanted all the players to enjoy the experience, and they all played a leading role. The Mini's goal was defended by Esther Sullastres, now with Sevilla . “There was excitement, but also helplessness at seeing the distance. That year, in the preseason, we played two friendlies: one against Eintracht Frankfurt, which we lost 8-1, and another against Olympique Lyonnais, which we also lost 3-0. And, of course, you come away from those games feeling very inferior, knowing that you're far away,” he recalls.

They kept shooting at me and I thought... Oh my God, what planes! Laura Ràfols

In London, the goal was guarded by Laura Ràfols, who conceded four goals. “There were so many people cheering at what is now Meadow Park. I remember them kicking me non-stop, and I thought... Oh my God, what a blast. We want to be here one day.” Because Barça were caught off guard by that Arsenal team, partly due to the lack of information and resources in a section that wasn't professional until 2015. “In London, I remember that, since we had to go to the hotel and it was very far from the pitch, we ate some sandwiches next to the coach. Ours were exhausted, and the others were preparing for the next match,” says Llorens.

It was in London that we started saying that we had to make improvements.” Marta Corredera

“Most of the players worked or had to study, because football wasn't a future. At least, we didn't expect it to be anytime soon. I was 19 years old. I was studying Food Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Valencia, CTA. I would get up at 6 in the morning and return home at night after training,” Sullastres recalls. Ráfols, a physiotherapy student, recalls that at the time, “there was only one professional for all the women's sections of the club.”

There was hope, but you also felt helpless when you saw the resources they had.” Esther Sullastres

“And that's when we started saying, ‘If we want to live like them, if we want to be professionals, we have to win and earn recognition,’” says Corredera. “New signings came in, and we started being able to train in the evenings, but earlier, not at 9:30 p.m. And they started giving us our gear there; you didn't have to worry if you'd left something at home,” says Olga Garcia.

They all agree on the professionalism of Alexia, who will be reunited with Arsenal's other captain, Kim Little, who was also present at those 2012 matches. The Mollet native had to deal with the winger, who will turn 35 in June.