Back to us | Alexia Putellas

You've got this.

My heart was racing as we lined up in the tunnel, I had been dreaming of this moment for my whole footballing career, and now that it was here it suddenly felt real. I was lining up for a Champions League final with my childhood club alongside some of my best friends in the entire world.

I looked out onto the pitch, and the tiny glimpse of the stands told me everything... it was packed, the stadium was full and from the sound of the crowd it was mostly Culers. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, soaking in the atmosphere, but also desperately trying to calm my nerves before we made our way out onto the pitch, knowing that I had a big 90 minutes ahead and needed to be at my best.

I felt Mapi's hand come to rest on my shoulder from behind giving it a gentle squeeze before leaning forward and talking into my ear.

"You've got this" she whispered.

I turned and smiled in her direction before Ale's voice echoed through the stadium's tunnel.

"Vamos chicas!" she turned and shouted her usual words of encouragement as the Ref gave us the signal to head onto the pitch, her eyes meeting mine momentarily before she returned to game mode.

We lined up for the anthem before shaking hands with the Wolfsburg players and heading to our starting positions ready for the match to begin. The sound of the first whistle took away all the nerves that I had, we didn't have time for nerves... we had 90 minutes to get our hands on the most prestigious trophy in European football.

The game started calmly, both teams sharing the possession and no clear-cut chances for either side, until the twenty-minute mark when a beautiful pass over the top of the defenders from Keira landed at Ale's feet, she dribbled past one of the defenders and into the box but was tripped by another as she went to shoot on goal. She jumped up immediately, much to my relief, and headed straight to the ref pointing to the penalty spot and loudly explaining what happened, quickly joined by Mapi and Irene who also joined in on the discussion, pleading for the ref to check again. After an excruciatingly long VAR check, a penalty was awarded and a yellow card was given to the defender. Alexia calmly picked up the ball and walked towards the spot, just like she always did, before placing it down on the painted circle. After what felt like forever, the ref finally blew her whistle and it was time for Ale to take the shot, which of course she scored, I never had any doubt about the ball hitting the back of the net when Ale was standing behind it.

The rest of the first half went pretty much the same, with each team creating a few opportunities, but neither managed to finish them which meant we went into half-time with a 1-0 lead. The locker room atmosphere was just like any other game, Jonatan gave us some tactical advice on what to do to break down their defence while the physio's taped up any players that needed it.

Ale and I walked back out onto the pitch together, we were side by side walking down the tunnel when her hand brushed against mine.

"You ok?" she asked quietly, turning her head momentarily to look into my eyes before looking forward again.

"Yeah, you?" I asked her, brushing my little finger against her hand as we continued walking.

"Mmmhmm" she hummed as we exited the tunnel.
"I'll see you after, okay?" she asked me with a smile before stepping back onto the pitch and jogging to her position.

It may seem like a cold conversation for two people in a relationship to have, but that was normal for us during a game. When we are on the pitch we are two professionals with a job to do... win the match, that is the most important part of our job, but we always check in with each other, especially during big matches like this.

The first 15 minutes of the second half didn't go as we had hoped, Wolfsburg had been on top since half-time and managed to score a goal in the 58th minute, to level the score at 1-1. It was a crushing feeling, the fact that we hadn't managed to hold on to the lead was utterly heartbreaking, but we couldn't let it affect us... we needed another goal.

Conceding that goal made us all step up a gear and the football that we were playing suddenly began to click, with 5 shots on target coming in the next 10 minutes. In the 75th minute, we managed to take the lead again, a corner delivered perfectly into the box from Mapi for Patri to head into the back of the net. We had 15 minutes to defend our lead and possibly find another goal, 15 minutes of football to go before we could even think about lifting that trophy.

Those 15 minutes felt like hours, but the final whistle did finally come and we had done it. We had won the Champions League final and were European champions.

I collapsed onto the damp grass, my legs unable to hold my body weight any longer, the emotions of finally accomplishing my lifelong dream were overwhelming. I was lying there on the grass with my eyes closed tightly stopping the tears from escaping, listening to the crowd cheering and my teammates celebrating around me when I felt someone reach for my hands and pull me up to my feet.

The voice in my ear as they pulled me towards them told me exactly who it was.

"We did it!!" Ale shouted over the noise of the stadium as she lifted me off my feet and spun me around in her embrace.

"I-I can't believe it!!" I cheered back, looking into her hazel eyes as she put me back on the ground, her arms never loosening their grip around my waist as she held me close, the rest of the stadium disappearing into the background.

"I'm so proud of you carino" She smiled, the emotions becoming visible in her eyes.

"I'm so proud of you too! That penalty was amazing! You were amazing! You are amazing! I love you so much!" I gushed, the adrenaline in my body taking over.

"I love you too" She said, taking my face into her hands.
"You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now" She blushed, glancing down to my lips before returning her hazel eyes to mine.

"Do it then" I smirked, her admission taking me surprise, but one thing I knew for sure is that I wanted to kiss her too.

As she began to move her head closer to mine my heart started racing, not able to believe that this was really happening in front of the thousands in the crowd.

That's because it wasn't.  Instead of placing her lips onto mine, they settled on my forehead, placing a gentle kiss before she pulled away again smiling.

"I can't here, but I will later. I promise"

"I better be getting more than just a kiss..." I teased, meeting her eyes for a moment before dragging her towards the rest of our teammates to celebrate with them.