It was their first match-ball to become League champion and the Blaugrana did not fail against the modest Granada of Catalan Roger Lamesa. A placid match (1-4) in which the culé team had fun to the sound of some stellar Rolfö and Hansen.
There are already nine Leagues, the last five consecutively. A record that no one had ever achieved before in the women’s league. Only they could achieve it, those who are called to be legends of this sport. The collectors of titles, of individual and collective recognitions. A team that has proven intractable in League F, giving up only a draw (1-1) against Levante and 15 points behind second place, Real Madrid, in the absence of playing its match tomorrow. And not only do they break the mold in women’s football, they have also equaled the best record in the Spanish men’s league, the five titles won between 1986 and 1900 by that brilliant generation known as ‘La Quinta del Buitre’.
Barça started the day early in the morning, getting on their brand new, brand new personalized Vueling plane, the same one that took them to London to qualify for the Champions League final. One by one the footballers boarded the aircraft decorated with photographs of the Blaugrana stars and landed in Granada wearing a smile that foreshadowed everything that was to come.
The expectation to see the Blaugrana footballers live was total and Nuevo Los Cármenes had a great entrance to see one of the best teams of all time. “Playing with the stars” was the motto chosen by Granada to announce the match with a campaign in which they highlighted the specialness of being able to face the best players in the world. The stands were a real party, despite the defeat, they celebrated Laura Pérez’s penalty goal in style, making it 3-1 before the break, and surrendered to the champions. The team was accompanied by Marc Vivés, sports director, and the director responsible for women’s football, Xavier Puig. President Laporta, who was in Girona with the men’s first team, did not travel.
If against Madrid CFF Patri Guijarro was the only one who repeated in the eleven compared to the Stamford Bridge match, against Granada it was Alexia Putellas who was the only one who repeated her starting role, following Giráldez’s plan with the rotations that she stated have allowed her to arrive “fresh ” to the decisive stretch of the season. The team came out strong and Rolfö scored the first after three minutes, defining an assist from the baseline by Graham Hansen. The Nordic connection would be repeated at 3-0, but reversing the roles, with the Norwegian, Pichichi of the League, as the scorer. Rolfö would round off his night by scoring from a penalty, just like he did at Stamford Bridge to seal the culé victory at 1-4.
With the final whistle came the Blaugrana celebration. After two seasons celebrating the League at home, in front of their fans, Barça once again became champions away from Johan Cruyff. The last time this happened was in the 2020-21 season, when the Blaugrana celebrated the title in Tenerife. They had to wait for the result between Levante and Espanyol to certify it mathematically, leaving memorable images of the celebration in the hotel pool. That year was also the year of the first Blaugrana Champions League and the year of the first treble. This year they can expand the feat with a title poker.
Jonatan Giráldez hugged his coaching staff and the players. This will be his last season at the club, but he will leave with three League titles under his belt in his three seasons at the helm of the team. For the club it will be the ninth league title. Nobody has more than them, who surpass their own record of four consecutive Leagues. A feat that he had achieved on two occasions (2011-15, and 2020-23). Like last year, they are on the verge of completing a ‘perfect league’ due to the draw at home against Levante (1-1) last February, but it has not prevented them from mathematically certifying the title four days earlier of the end of the season and with a spectacular balance of 109 goals scored and only 9 conceded in the 26 days that have been played.
The best start to a month of May that can be historic. The Blaugrana are competing for a poker of titles that they have never achieved before. They already have the League and the Super Cup in their pockets, won in January with a 7-0 win over Levante. On May 18 they can win the Queen’s Cup if they beat Real Sociedad and they will have the opportunity to put the finishing touch on it on May 25 in San Mamés in the Champions League final against the eternal rival, Olympique de Lyon. The dream has only just begun.
