Immense. Eternal. Immortals. The FC Barcelona footballers continue to write the most beautiful pages in their history. They won their tenth Queen’s Cup in Zaragoza and they did it the only way they know how, devouring their rival. Natalia Arroyo’s Real Sociedad did not have their best afternoon and that, against the Blaugrana giant, is expensive, and even more so when the team is inspired. She lost a hand at half-time and she ended up scoring a scandalous win, equaling the record for goals in a Cup final.
Barça won, but women’s football also won. The one in La Romareda was the first final in which the atmosphere of the big events could be experienced. The streets of Zaragoza were filled with Blaugrana and Txuri-Urdin shirts from the first hour. The fans shared a festive day sharing the terraces of the bars and exchanging songs. The 2024 Queen’s Cup showed that when things are done well, a good venue is chosen with a large stadium and a strategic location, halfway between Barcelona and San Sebastián, the fans respond.
The arrival of the two teams to the stadium had very little to envy of any men’s final. The fans braved the sun and the heat and waited patiently for the bus with their heroines to arrive. A reception full of color and with a duel of hymns and songs in the surroundings of La Romareda that the players immortalized from their seats while greeting the fans. Even an unleashed Jonatan Giráldez responded to the chants by banging on the windows of the bus upon his arrival at the stadium. An atmosphere of ten to which his Barça responded with the tenth cup for the Catalan club.
A trophy that he received from Queen Letizia. Another sign that things are changing in women’s football. The Queen had only given the cup that bears her name on one occasion, it was precisely in 2019, giving it to Real Sociedad, who beat Atlético de Madrid in the final. She already accompanied the Spanish team in Sydney last summer, when they were proclaimed world champions and yesterday, in La Romareda, she reinforced the Royal Family’s commitment to women’s football.
Arroyo wanted a long final to put pressure on Barça, but the plan did not work out for coach Txuri-Urdin, who saw how her team was already behind on the scoreboard five minutes into the game. Vanegas tried to reject a shot from Ona ??Batlle, but the ball returned to the feet of Vilassar, who sent it into the back of the net.
The royalist fans responded with songs to encourage their fans, but the Blaugrana anthems also quickly took over in the stands, foreshadowing what was to come. After ten minutes, the second came, this time by Salma Paralluelo, to the joy of the Aragonese fans, who celebrated their compatriot’s goal in style. The Aragonese had a masterful performance in front of her home crowd, participating in four of the five Blaugrana goals before the break. His was the shot that Lete couldn’t block and sent it to the feet of a Graham Hansen who never fails to make it 3-0.
The Real footballers, much less accustomed to these big events, had their legs trembling. They lacked solidity at the back and against a giant like Barça, any mismatch is costly. Two of the first three goals came after a rebound by the royalists, unable to reduce the danger with guarantees. The Txuri-Urdin team made losses in defense.
Graham Hansen scored his double before half an hour, taking advantage of an assist from Paralluelo and Ona Batlle closed the gap in the first half after an exquisite triangulation between Paralluelo, Mariona and Ona herself.
The Aragonese soccer player did not get tired and as soon as the second half started she put the sixth on a plate for Mariona Caldentey, who only had to push the ball into the back of the net. Giráldez replaced Paralluelo shortly after, who left the field applauded by a standing Romareda. Pina and Mariona extended the victory to equal the largest final in the history of the Queen’s Cup, Oiartzun’s 8-0 defeat of CF Porvenir in 1988. Jonatan Giráldez’s team then took their foot off the accelerator and did not need more to leave with a more than deserved title.
Barça already has the treble in their pocket, but the party is not over. To complete it, he still has the most demanding test of all: the Champions League final against Lyon in just a week. The countdown begins to settle the only debt that this team has with its fans: defeat its black beast.
