will show the World Cup medal games on TV2 and Areena this weekend. Bronze match Sweden-Australia on Saturday at 10:30 and the final Spain-England on Sunday at 12:15. You can find everything about the games on ‘s World Cup page.
– I want to dedicate this to someone who has always been and always will be very special to me. I hope you are very proud of your daughter. Wherever you are, this is for you, Dad.
When Alexia Putellas received the Ballon d’Or awarded to the best player in the world for the first time, he ended his speech clearly moved with emotional words.
Putellas’ father died more than ten years ago. It was he who played a significant role in Putellas falling in love with football. Football runs in the family, as Putellas’ father’s family were Barcelona supporters.
It was Putellas’ father who was the biggest Barca fan in the family. However, he never got to enjoy his daughter’s performances in a Barcelona shirt.
– When Alexia was 18, I went to watch her matches with my father. His father was always on the other side of the field. She was alone because she always followed her daughter. So sad that he can’t see all this, Putellas’ former PE teacher Merce Esteban said for The Athletic last summer.
The most important person
The father followed his daughter’s soccer career closely. When Putellas first moved away from home at the age of 17 to Valencia to play for Levante, his father traveled three hours away every Sunday to watch the match.
When Jaume was very ill and suffered from heart problems for a year, Putellas said to his father: “I’m going to study to be a doctor and I’ll help you”.
– Her father Jaume was always with Alexia. His father was the most important person in football for him, Levante’s coach Antonio Contreras described.
When Putellas was a child, he used to watch matches at Camp Nou with his parents, aunts, Setie and grandparents. At that time, he could not imagine that he would one day play in the legendary stadium.
The stadium is only for men, that’s what he thought then.
However, everything changed in January 2021, when Putellas was about to play the first match in Barcelona women’s history at the stadium. Putellas had the honor of finishing the first goal of the match.
– I was so proud, especially because of my family. After the airing, we returned to our seats and I was alone for a while, and that’s when I realized I had scored a goal at Camp Nou. After ten seconds, however, you had to focus on playing again, Putellas said about the hit on Barcelona’s website .
A hard blow before the European Championships
Putellas, who has scored a lot of goals in his career, has become the face and captain of Barcelona. He has already been chosen twice as the best footballer in the world and has also celebrated winning the Champions League just as many times.
However, the gold medal won in the prestigious competition has eluded the star player. Last summer, Putellas experienced a hard blow just before the European Championships, when a knee injury took him out for a long time.
For Putellas, hearing the news was the worst moment of his football career so far, according to those interviewed by The Athletic.
– I don’t know how to pray, but I prayed in every possible way that it’s not about what I thought, Putellas said in the Amazon Prime documentary.
I even thought about quitting
Putellas’ fear turned out to be true, because based on the descriptions, a knee injury would keep him sidelined for 10–12 months. He even suggested to the Barcelona head coach that he look for someone else to win the Champions League.
– I am considering all possible options, even quitting and coaching. I can’t say if my career is over, I don’t know if I will return to this level, Putellas told his agent.
During his recovery, Putellas had many emotions.
– At some moments I had a lot of energy, a lot of strength and motivation. At other times, I lost track of why I was doing everything I was doing after being away from the field for a long time.
The desire to be the best in the world
Putellas returned to the field in April, when Barcelona secured their fourth consecutive championship in the Spanish league. The 29-year-old star player was sidelined for almost a year due to a knee injury.
Although Putellas already had time to think about the end of his career, it is precisely because of his inner ambition and goal-setting that his career continues.
Putellas has not hidden his desire to be the best soccer player in the world. Almost all of his decisions in life are based on whether it will improve his performance.
– I never do enough. I want to win more, train more.
The star has also stated that he may not be the most balanced person in football, but he makes every sacrifice to be as good as he can be.
– When you look at this story from the outside, someone can say that “this is super toxic and you can’t live life to the fullest”. This gives me life.
– Some may say that a boring woman. However, my career as a football player is short. Why not make the most of it?
The competitive spirit has brought Putellas to this point, but on the other hand, it has also caused concern in people close to him.
– His obsession is part of the reason for his success, but he also doesn’t enjoy success enough. He is so demanding of himself and his surroundings that sometimes he forgets to enjoy himself, who knows Putellas well LIus Cortes stated to The Athletic.
The pecking hurt
After returning to the playing fields, Putellas played in Barcelona as a substitute player. In the World Cup, he made it to the opening for the first time in more than 400 days in the second match of the preliminary group, when Spain defeated Zambia 5–0.
In the semi-final against Sweden, Putellas also made it to the opener, but Jorge Vilda replaced him at the 56th minute. Putellas was not happy about being benched. When one of the coaches stretched out his hand to signal a pass, Putellas pushed his hand aside.
Putellas, who has played in the World Championships three times, has many titles, but the championship in the prestigious adult competitions is missing from the trophy case.
On Sunday, he will have a chance to achieve this feat. After all the adversity, it would surely taste good to the best player in the world. Dad would be very proud too.
The final match of the World Cup between Spain and England will be shown live on TV2 and Areena on Sunday at 12:15 p.m.
Sources: The Athletic, ESPN, Forbes