golden blonde¹

tottenham hotspur (h)

matchday minus one is their last full training session before tottenham. elena's not quite sure how to describe the feeling.

in the gym, the first-team mens players are conversing with them, clearly excited for the upcoming derby.

everyone at the training grounds have either got a pep in their step, or nervously treading from place to place. elena's in between.

she hadn't realized how big of a deal it was. she loved playing against rivals though. especially against real madrid.

their day starts out with a quick briefing. elena is chatting with frida as they walk in behind stina.

elena spares a glance at the no food and drinks sign, but ultimately ignores it like the swede in front of her.

she settles down behind the norwegian, with beth and lotte next to her.

"can you see anything elena?" jonas asks lightly. "no? tall scandis in front of you?" he laughs.

elena only slinks further down in her chair. it's a few more minutes of waiting as the rest of her teammates enter the room.

soon enough, jonas starts his presentation.

"morning, so we're going to preview spurs here. they're definitely going to play really physical against us."

"north london derbies are always really physical, you get used to it," lotte mumbles next to her. the spaniard offers a nod as she leans back in her chair.

"we can't change their game plan, i can't change it and neither can you. that's the simple truth. what we can change and what we can control is how much we let their physical gameplan affect us." jonas pauses momentarily, scanning the room of his players. "i know they talk about us before the game, 'if we do this to arsenal, it'll throw them off their game, they'll lose it on the pitch."

he plays a clip of spurs, winning over another team. the other team looks pissed off, and elena knows she hates that feeling of losing.

"we're not going to lose our heads. they're not getting anywhere near our heads. we're going to play our game, in defense, in offense. the only thing that matters is winning that game tomorrow. i want you all to get that idea in your heads that what you do out on the pitch today is going to be so good that it's going to change what i have thought about already."

the lights turn back on, and the girls start talking again.

on the pitch, she plays hard. elena knows the only way to get a starting eleven spot is to perform. she's been told numerous times that she wasn't good enough at barcelona to start. she's been told a couple times that she wasn't good enough to start at arsenal either.

all she wants more than anything is to prove her doubters wrong.

when elena and the team get the starting eleven before the bus ride to emirates stadium, she can barely contain her joy. she sits across from frida on the bus. they talk for a bit before elena pulls out her headphones to call her sister.

"hey elena!" jana exclaims as her face comes onto the screen. elena waves to the camera. "how are you feeling for the game today?"

"i'm starting!" elena grins.

"that's great el! and it's against tottenham at the emirates! i'm so proud of you hermana!"

"god, i'm so nervous. lia told me that there was 50 thousand tickets sold. can you believe that!? fifty thousand!" elena says excitedly.

"that's amazing! are you on the bus right now?"

"yep! say hi to frida." elena turns her camera to the norwegian across from her. frida waves at the phone with her signature wide smile.