Chameleonic and intelligent. The blaugrana Patri Guijarro (1998) is the total midfielder and she has shown it this year, forced to convert from pivot to interior due to the loss of Alexia Putellas. With that silent leadership she has carried out this difficult task with solvency. She attends La Vanguardia after training and in the middle of the most hectic week of the year, which will end on Saturday with the Champions League final. Interviews with the press, advertising commitments… A life that has nothing to do with that of that footballer who landed at La Masia at the age of 17.
Is it difficult to adapt to this new reality?
Many times I have told Alexia that I am not envious [laughs] I don’t dislike having to go somewhere one afternoon because in general I have felt comfortable, although it is difficult because we are not used to so much load, especially when they arrive Important appointments like this week, but I think I’ve been able to handle it well.
Have you needed help?
Yes, this is the first year that I go to a psychologist because there comes a point that you need it. The change has been brutal, outside of football we have many things and also in sports it has helped me to reach the best possible mentally.
This year he has had the difficult challenge of replacing Alexia. How did Giráldez approach it?
It was in the preseason. We hadn’t signed Keira yet and ‘Jona’ told me that, depending on whether someone arrived or not, I still had to cover that position. I thought, ‘well, from central paso to inland in less than two years!’. But I tried to adapt and I think I have succeeded. In the end there are more resources that I take with me.
It has been difficult?
The truth is that I enjoyed it, although at first it was a bit difficult for me. But over the months we have been adapting the position very well and from Christmas we had a much more fluid game.
Did you feel pressure for having to replace the best in the world?
The truth is that no, because they know that I am Patri. They knew I was going to give my 200%. It’s not my natural position and obviously I was going to need an adaptation. At first I asked for videos of Alexia, she is very intelligent in all her movements and I wanted to learn from it.
Has his absence given you more tools as a team?
Obviously we want Alexia on the field, but now we have another system that Barça can bet on. We are no longer so predictable.
How do you see Alexia?
Very good, looking forward to it. What stands out the most is that she is not afraid, it is a hard, long injury and the fact that she is already entering the rival naturally, without fear, reassures us and her. I’m glad because that greatly reduces the risk of relapse.
How does the team get to the final?
Last year, shortly after the first game against Wolfsburg, we noticed a drop. We did not feel with the same spark. This year the planning has been different, wanting to reach the end with the same physique, but with more freshness.
And mentally?
We have changed a lot the way we face the games that we start losing. It seemed that when we fit in we couldn’t come back. This year we have achieved that it is not so low when they score a goal, but that we continue the same and even put one more gear to turn it around. We are a mentally stronger team.
What did you learn from the defeat in Turin?
Those two early goals killed us. You have to start the game more seriously, in another context the same thing would not have happened, but it did and you have to learn from it. You can’t disconnect for a minute. You have to start from minute zero to 200% and concentrate to the maximum.
Are Wolfsburg’s counterattacks your biggest danger?
It is a very strong team that is obviously going to take advantage of its strengths, which are a bit of our weaknesses. Although against Chelsea I think we worked very well and can serve as an example. But Wolfsburg also has very good weapons in set pieces with which they can take the lead.
¿Se ve levantando la segunda?
Hopefully. Dreaming it yes, but I don’t want to jinx it.
What would it mean for Barça?
The first one was brutal and meant a change in Spain. If we hadn’t gotten that Champions League, who knows if they would have professionalized the League this year. A second Champions would be to hit the table to show that it was not a coincidence and encourage the teams to really bet as Barça is doing.
What balance do you make of the first year of the professional league?
It has been very turbulent, we don’t stop having conflicts every year but we have to keep fighting because we want a League that not only calls itself professional, but that really is, that our teammates have a decent salary, a complete staff and all the resources .
As a Barça player, do you feel more responsible?
We are aware that we have a lot of power and we want to use that visibility. The more clubs that approach us, the more competitive the League will be. We will always fight for our partners.
A fight that also leads to the selection…
It has been a difficult year. At the beginning it was not easy at all because everyone wants to play with their team, but it is a fight that we will not stop. We are internally trying to solve it and hopefully something will be fixed, especially for the future, because everything is done for the players that will come.
