Match week 38
A week in which Champion's League places and trophies were CLAIMED and signalling a wrap on the football season, with Sweden being the exceptional exception
Good day from a weary traveler. I was on the road for less than a week but between night buses and early flights, exciting football games and trophy celebrations this one’s a bit knackered, but still in good spirits! It’s been a full-on week which has seen most football seasons coming to an end, with some proper last-day drama in the Premier League, Serie A not wanting to be any worse and pushing the crowning of the Scudetto until the last day too, and one of two Champion’s League finals were played, so it’s been a busy one for most football fans. All the footballers are now taking off on some well-deserved holidays while the fans are left with a lot of time in the schedules - luckily not for too long, as the countdown for the women’s Euros is ON - 40 days to go! We’ve also got the Swedish women’s league Damallsvenskan which is still very much on-going and I’ll get into further down in this letter.
I decided last minute to head down to Torino for the women’s Champion’s League final, a decision I was very happy that I made despite some mild anxiety around the expensiveness of last-minute decisions, as well as the fact that I would be returning to Italy for the first time since me and my ex broke up (there, like RIGHT THERE lol.) I was flying into the same airport that I had left in tears, scraping myself off of the terminal floor. Was it going to be painful? Would I get disappointed? Maybe my infatuation with Italy was corrupted by past feelings of being in love, and it would ruin my stay, as I would feel trapped in a retrospective bad dream as opposed to focusing on what was right in front of me?
I would have nothing to worry about on that front but as fate would have it, there would be others who would experience a similar feeling …
I don’t have to tell you, but after these 2+ years of the pandemic, lockdowns and lots of grief, I think we all massively appreciate the possibility to attend events in person, even as we acknowledge that it’s far from “over”. We have intimately come to realise the real need for physical experiences, together. That feeling of a mass of bodies moving together, singing, flags waving and energy bouncing around. Being there just draws you in, there is no way to focus on anything else. All day I was bumping into traveling fans who I got into conversations with, eating my way through the pasticcerie and getting by on my burgeoning Italian. Words were easily exchanged with people walking past in the streets who were catching on to what was happening, and outside the stadium there was a sea of Culers, stripes of red and blue stretching until the mountains that provided the background framing of the stadium. Every queue was full of people singing and the atmosphere was irrepressible, giddy.
The Barca fans were confident, with the season that they’d had going through the league unbeaten, and with last year’s Champion’s League trophy back home in the cabinet after that convincing 4-0 win over Chelsea. Weeks earlier they’d broken back-to-back records for the highest attendance of a women’s football game in club football, as they managed to sell out Camp Nou TWICE, and 37 coaches had made its way from the Catalan capital to come out and support the team in Torino, filling up the Piazza San Carlo with flares, flags and dance before the game.
Following the wave of supporters into the mouth of the stadium and up the stairs to the stands, that feeling of first entering and your eyes meeting the pitch never gets old, as all the impressions come flooding in your periphery but in front of you there’s only this beautiful patch of green, immaculately prepared for the next 90+ minutes. It was impossible not to be present amongst all the people that had turned out to see some of the best football players in the world battle it out, and the players who were ready to make it count. As the two teams marched out on the pitch and the game got ready to kick off, there was a palpable electric vibe in the air, like the eerie calm before a thunderstorm, but the clear sun and soft pink sky betrayed the sensation. It did not take long, however, for everyone present to realise that a storm might as well have swept into the stadium, as we were treated to three goals by Lyon within the first 33 minutes of the game. The first one came after only six minutes, as Armandine Henry floored Alexia Putellas and got up, took one look and unleashed a rocket that buried itself in the sidenetting. I mean, LOOK AT IT
The whole stadium fell silent. And the expected reply from Barcelona, the clawing back, the immediate call to action did not come but instead we saw an easeful play from Lyon end in a Salma Bach cross into the box where Ada Hegerberg was completely unmarked and could head the ball in for 2-0 only minutes later. Lyon did not show any consideration for the in-form of this Barcelona side, which might have contributed to the Catalan side’s shock, of not being feared from the moment they lined up against their opponent. A well-worked build-up involving Hegerberg and Melvine Malard found Catarina Macario who could easily tap in for 3-0 at the back post and there was a feeling of repeating a bad dream from the 2019 Champion’s League final meeting between the two sides (which Lyon won 4-0.) Alexia managed to get a goal back before halftime, and the blaugrana had a few close calls in the second half, like that beautiful chip shot hitting the bar, but in the end they did not manage to convert anything and as the final whistle went, everyone fell down on their knees - Barca in despair, Lyon in ecstasy.
It was a convincing and well-deserved win and the French side and captain Wendie Renard, last to receive her medal before grabbing the trophy, was caught in a moment of absentmindedness, seemingly lost in her own thoughts, before she headed down to grab the silverware that she hoisted in the air together with her team, glitter canons firing. The Barcelona team meanwhile had to watch from the side, a somewhat unusual position for them nowadays. They came over multiple times to greet their fans, who refused to leave but kept the flag-waving going, as if to say “if you have to stay here through this, we’ll be right there with you.” They continued the solidarity outside of the stadium, framed by the lilac mountains as they were wiping tears and letting out their frustrations.
It can be hard navigating your past in present day, and sometimes it gets the better of you. Sometimes it has nothing to do with what’s unfurling, but you simply have to admit defeat, pack your bags and get ready to start all over again the next day. What did I do? Well, I packed my bags for an early train to the airport the next morning, full of high emotions and pastries, and upon arrival realised with a wry smile that I wasn’t even flying out from the same terminal as last time, rendering my rumination fruitless.
Tottenham’s BACK BABY! That’s right, the north London men’s team is back to playing on Wednesdays, managing to cling that valuable fourth place after a convincing 5-0 win on the last day of the season against Norwich, in which big baller Son Heung-Min aka Sonny aka EVERYONE’S ABSOLUTE FAVE scored two goals and ensured him winning the Golden Boot (split with Mohamed Salah.) These news combined with Tottenham’s Champion’s League qualification for next year secured has been such a fantastic ending to the season, after a few tough years.
Suzy Wrack’s five great takeaways from this Champion’s League season
Swedish women’s league Damallsvenskan is starting to pick up pace and there has already been a few interesting results and matchups. The league is one of the few European leagues to still have a summer season, running from last week of March until first week of November, with a break in July for the women’s Euros. After 10 games played it’s tight at the top, with Rosengård leading the way, followed by Häcken and Linköping. Look out for another letter at the beginning of next week, when I’ll be doing a deep dive into the league, its decorated history and current status. To tide you over, here’s a wee Youtube series (produced by a betting company?) on all the different teams (if you speak Swedish, that is, seeing as subtitles do not seem to be available..)
Listen to me chat to Tom at Since71 about grassroots football in Scotland, more UWCL final chat and more!
Amazing, amazing women. Lyon head coach Sonia Bompastor, who’s only coached the first team since April 2021, is the first woman to win a Champion’s League trophy as a player and as a coach. She used to play alongside current captain and defensive rock Renard in turn, who has spent her whole career in Lyon and played over a 100 CL matches, and won a record-breaking 8 Champion’s League titles !!! Rakuten TV has a documentary featuring Renard (amongst others), free to watch upon signing up, and there are a few others in there well worth a watch (featuring players from Italy, Sweden, Germany, England etc.) There’s also a French documentary made about the Lyon team, released in 2020, called "Les Joueuses - Pas Là Pour Danser" (The Players - Not Here to Dance), which is definitely on my watch-list as well.