Tag Archives: Patri Guijarro

Aitana Bonmatí Claims Ballon d’Or Féminin After Record-Breaking Year

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Aitana Bonmatí is officially soccer’s biggest female star…

The 25-year-old Spanish professional footballer, a Barcelona and Spain midfielder, has claimed the Ballon d’Or Féminin after a record-breaking year with club and country.

Aitana BonmatíBonmatí helped Barça win Liga F and the Champions League last season, before leading Spain to World Cup glory in the summer.

She was named Player of the Tournament in Australia and New Zealand and was also recently crowned UEFA Women’s Player of the Year. Bonmati won the Ballon d’Or ahead of Australia forward Sam Kerr and Spain winger Salma Paralluelo.

“I want to congratulate all the nominees. All of them are great and inspiring footballers. As role models we have a responsibility on and off the pitch. We should be more than athletes. Keep leading by example and keep fighting together for a better, peaceful and equal world,” Bonmatí said after receiving the award.

At the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris, Barcelona were also awarded as the women’s team of the year.

Bonmatí’s teammate Patri Guijarro and Barça president Joan Laporta received the recognition on behalf of the club.

It’s the third year in a row that a Barça player has clinched the Ballon d’Or in the women’s game, with Bonmatí succeeding teammate and back-to-back winner Alexia Putellas.

“Spain has something unique. In recent years we have achieved a lot with our clubs and the national team,” Bonmati told reporters.

“It says a lot that we won the Ballon d’Or three times in a row. We are a country that lives football, and we work hard every day to be the best.”

After claiming the prize in 2021 and 2022, Putellas missed the majority of last season with an ACL injury, although she did return to play a part in Spain’s World Cup triumph.

In Putellas’ absence, Bonmatí, who came fifth in the 2022 Ballon d’Or, took the spotlight in a more attacking role at Barcelona, scoring nine goals and assisting 10 more in 23 appearances as Barça won Liga F for a fourth successive season.

She also starred in the Champions League, registering a competition-high 13 goal contributions (five goals and eight assists) in 11 appearances as Barça won the title for a second time.

At the World Cup, she scored three times and set up two more goals as Spain won the competition for the first time, beating England 1-0 in the final in Sydney.

Bonmatí first broke into the Barça side in 2016 and has since made over 200 appearances for the club, winning four league titles, two Champions Leagues, five Copas de le Reina and three Spanish Super Cups.

She made her Spain debut in 2017 and had won 57 caps for her country, scoring 21 goals.

Alexia Putellas & Barcelona Teammates Break Attendance Record in Women’s Football

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Alexia Putellas and her Barca teammates are celebrating an impressive record.

Barcelona broke the attendance record in women’s football for the second time in a month as 91,648 supporters watched them beat Wolfsburg 5-1 at Camp Nou in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal.

Alexia Putellas & BarcelonaThe previous record crowd for a women’s game had only been set by Barca in March, when 91,553 people attended their quarterfinal against Real Madrid — 95 fewer than attended Friday’s game.

Prior to that, the women’s record had stood since 1999, when 90,185 fans watched the World Cup final between the United States and China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

“It was spectacular, both today and a month ago against Madrid,” midfielder Patri Guijarro said in a news conference after the game. “We’re speechless, really. I’m sure as the days and years pass, we will become a bit more of what we have achieved. We’re still not completely aware of the magnitude of [the attendances].”

However, some estimates suggest 110,000 people attended Denmark’s win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in the 1971 World Cup final, a tournament that was not officially sanctioned.

Barca usually play their home games at the 6,000-seater Estadi Johan Cruyff at the club’s training ground, but their Champions League knockout games have been moved to Camp Nou to accommodate the bigger demand for tickets.

This was just their third competitive game at the 99,000-seater stadium. They played against Espanyol behind closed doors last season due to the pandemic, and then for the first time with fans against Madrid last month.

On the pitch, they were too good for Wolfsburg, blowing them away with four first-half goals from Aitana Bonmati, Caroline Graham Hansen, Jenni Hermoso and Alexia Putellas.

Jill Roord pulled one back for the German side after the break, but Ballon d’Or winner Putellas added her second from the penalty spot to seal Barca’s 45th successive win in all competitions, a run dating back to last June.

The teams will meet again in the second leg at the Volkswagen Arena next Saturday, with the winners facing Lyon or Paris Saint-Germain in the final in Turin on May 21.

Wolfsburg coach Tommy Stroot was pessimistic about his team’s chances of turning things around in the second leg.

“Barca fans can book their tickets for the final,” he said. “They were favourites before the tie and now they’re even bigger favourites.

“Our challenge is to try and win next week without losing touch with reality. Wanting to win 5-1 is difficult, but winning is possible, although we have to change certain things.”