Alexia’s click to be reborn and recover her best version

Of course I want to play a classic again. And to mark. The adrenaline it generates is special,” says Alexia Putellas. The Barça captain’s eyes shine in the days leading up to the first women’s classic of the season that Barcelona will play tomorrow (8:00 p.m.) in Valdebebas because the Bernabéu is neither there nor expected for these matches. Nobody has to explain to Alexia what it means to defend the Barça shirt against the eternal rival. And no one knows better than her the helplessness of not being able to play them. In the last two years, in six classics Alexia has only played 20 minutes.

The reason? The injury to her left knee that failed her in July 2022 and that first sidelined her for nine months. The via crucis did not end there. Last year, five days before president Joan Laporta opened Montjuïc for the first women’s classic of the league season, Alexia relived her worst nightmare against Benfica. It was time to start again. And the 38,707 spectators who enjoyed the Blaugrana’s 5-0 win were left without seeing the captain who, after weighing her options, decided to undergo an arthroscopy. Another operating room. Another year without being able to be herself. Alexia became desperate. And it closed in band. All of this also coincided with a renewal process with the club that became entrenched.

Read also

The captain, who never wanted to leave and who collected her second Ballon d’Or while fully recovering, asked the club to renew so she could have peace of mind during her recovery. The response was not what I expected. She even had some ultimatums from Barça to quickly accept an economic proposal that did not convince her. Markel Zubizarreta, sports director, left. Marc Vives entered his place with the mission of resolving the situation. There was a lot of back and forth.

Finally Alexia accepted Barça’s proposal until 2026. He was an icon. He couldn’t let her escape. Club sources assure that it was precisely this last element that led Joan Laporta to accept a renewal that ended up being resolved with the classic “neither for you nor for me.”

Third top scorer of the club

Of course I want to play a classic again. And to mark. It’s always special,” said Alexia, who has 198 goals for Barça, the same as Luis Suárez.

That renewal was the turning point that Alexia needed to gain oxygen. In the sports city they have noticed it a lot. “It clicked,” they say. The captain, who lives in Sant Feliu, arrives early every day at the sports city. For soccer players, having breakfast or lunch at La Masia is optional. Alexia always eats and often has breakfast. She shares a lot of time with the players of her generation such as Paredes, Mapi León and Graham Hansen.

Then the training begins. One of the changes that Pere Romeu has introduced is dividing the 22 players into groups of five. Each group works with one of the club’s four physical trainers. There are rotations. Neither the groups nor the trainers are the same. The goal is to offer more individual attention to the players. With Alexia the focus is on strength exercises for her quadriceps and left knee. “We train some concepts, an intensity, many things. We arrived at the classic at the best moment of the course,” he points out.

“We trained some concepts, an intensity, many things. We arrived at the classic at the best moment of the course,” says the captain

Alexia doesn’t pay attention to her scoring tally. Consultation with the staff when designated dates approach. For now, she has 198. A figure that, along with Luis Suárez, places her as the club’s third top scorer. The second is César Rodríguez (232). And the first is Leo Messi (672). “If I score 199 against Madrid, great. It will not be the last,” Alexia assures. So far, 8 of his 198 goals have hit the white goal.