{"id":248696,"date":"2025-07-08T18:44:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T18:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/248696\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T18:44:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T18:44:13","slug":"spains-alexia-putellas-is-back-on-song-and-banishing-her-worst-euros-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/248696\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain\u2019s Alexia Putellas is back on song and banishing her worst Euros memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alexia Putellas had scored twice, but she still wanted more.<\/p>\n

It was the 92nd minute of Spain\u2019s 6-2 rout of Belgium when the 31-year-old took yet another shot on goal<\/a>. This one sailed over, but she could not contain her smile at the final whistle. For the second time in a row at the European Championship, she was the player of the match.<\/p>\n

Putellas had picked up that award in the 5-0 opening win against Portugal and it was a similar story of dominance against Belgium. Along with her two goals, she provided two assists, made six key passes, produced seven shots on goal, won six of her nine duels and took 111 touches according to Sofascore \u2014 only bettered by team-mate Patri Guijarro (142).<\/p>\n

The Barcelona midfielder is hungry, in tune and showing a confidence she has often lacked since 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The closer this summer\u2019s Euros approached, the more Putellas\u2019 face lit up when anyone mentioned the competition. This is the first time she has played at a European Championship in eight years \u2014 an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury on the eve of the last edition in England sidelined her for nearly 10 months.<\/p>\n

More than that, however, this is the first international tournament Putellas has been able to truly enjoy. This is despite winning her first Champions League title in 2021, lifting the first of two Ballon d\u2019Or awards at the end of that season \u2014 a first for Spanish women\u2019s football \u2014 and helping Spain claim their first World Cup in 2023.<\/p>\n

Putellas\u2019 ACL tear in a training session came when she was at her peak.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that moment, my knee didn\u2019t hurt,\u201d Putellas said in her documentary, Labor Omnia Vincit. \u201cSomething else hurt: missing what I thought was going to be the best moment of my football career, the best I had ever felt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Putellas was injured on the eve of the last Euros (Robbie Jay Barratt \u2013 AMA\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It was a huge psychological blow, one that prompted Putellas to text her mother and her agent saying she would have to give up football.<\/p>\n

That proved to be premature, as Putellas returned to the pitch in April 2023 and was back in the Spain squad for that summer\u2019s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. She played seven times and provided an assist, but had not built up enough rhythm to show her best form.<\/p>\n

Then, in a Champions League match with Benfica in November of the following season, she injured her left knee again. She underwent surgery and was kept out for three months.<\/p>\n

The turning point was the 2024 Champions League final in Bilbao against Lyon. With Barca leading 1-0, Putellas came on in the 92nd minute \u2014 she had also come on for a few minutes in the 2023 final against Wolfsburg \u2014 and produced a decisive impact. In the 95th minute, she scored to make it 2-0 just when Lyon were pushing for extra time. She promptly ran towards the fans and took off her shirt in a reflex action. Not only had Barca defeated a team they had often struggled to beat, but Putellas had put the worst period of her career behind her.<\/p>\n

Sources close to the player, who prefer to remain anonymous to protect relationships, say this is when Putellas\u2019 2024-25 season began. And she continued in that vein this campaign, regaining her place in Barca\u2019s starting line-up and shining as one of Liga F\u2019s outstanding players.<\/p>\n

Putellas has played 2,797 minutes across 39 matches, scoring 22 goals in all competitions \u2014 just four fewer than in her Ballon d\u2019Or-winning 2020-21 season.<\/p>\n

\"Barcelona\"<\/p>\n

Putellas\u2019 2024 Champions League final goal was a turning point (Ramsey Cardy \u2013 Sportsfile\/UEFA via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In November, she scored her 200th goal for Barcelona \u2014 she now has 213. She was the team\u2019s top assist provider this term (16) and the team\u2019s third-highest scorer, behind only Ewa Pajor (a remarkable 47 goals) and Claudia Pina (26). In the history of Barca\u2019s men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams, only Lionel Messi and Cesar Rodriguez have scored more goals in official matches than Putellas.<\/p>\n

Barca lifted Liga F, Copa de la Reina and Supercopa de Espana titles as expected, but came up short in the Champions League final against Arsenal. Putellas did not shine in that game, but the disappointment does not seem to have affected her performances with Spain.<\/p>\n

People close to her say she has been mentally noting all the criticism and doubts that were expressed about her when she returned from injury and was not performing at the same level as before. They say this is like fuel for her.<\/p>\n

No date provided greater fuel than the start of the Euros. Not only because of this being her third appearance at the tournament after playing in 2013 and 2017, but also because the last edition was where she fell to her lowest ebb \u2014 and because it is the only major medal she has not won.<\/p>\n

Putellas is an icon of Barcelona and Spanish football. Since joining the club in July 2012, she has undergone all phases of Barca\u2019s professionalisation. Until recently, she was the only big name in the media spotlight of Spanish women\u2019s football, whether she liked it or not. But the growth of the game, particularly since the World Cup win, means she now shares the spotlight with other players.<\/p>\n

Multiple dressing-room sources have told The Athletic she remains the most influential player behind the scenes for both club and country.<\/p>\n

She formed a tight-knit group with Jenni Hermoso and Irene Paredes, who often jokingly called themselves \u201cthe dinosaurs\u201d as they had been with the national team for such a long time (although Hermoso has been left out of this tournament). But the reality is that Putellas still has plenty of her best years ahead of her.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s leave her alone, let\u2019s not put that pressure on her,\u201d Paredes warned the press in Thun after that win against Belgium, which qualified Spain for the quarter-finals. \u201cBecause of who she is, because of her achievements, she carries a lot of weight. When she is calm and confident, we all benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Putellas, meanwhile, chose to draw attention to her team-mates in her post-match press conference, highlighting Esther Gonzalez\u2019s pressing, the passing of Claudia Pina and Mariona Caldentey, and Athenea del Castillo\u2019s runs in behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want it to be Spain\u2019s Euros, I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s mine or not,\u201d she said in an interview with Marca this week.<\/p>\n

With a fully fit Putellas, Spain may make it just that.<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Nick Potts\/PA Images via Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alexia Putellas had scored twice, but she still wanted more. It was the 92nd minute of Spain\u2019s 6-2…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5312],"tags":[199,2000,299,96,104,84559,9201],"class_list":{"0":"post-248696","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-barcelona","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-europe","11":"tag-la-liga","12":"tag-spain","13":"tag-womens-euros","14":"tag-womens-soccer"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}