Back to us | Alexia Putellas

Coming on.

"There they are!" Eli called out cheerfully as she walked into the player's lounge of the stadium, spotting Jordi and I in the corner of the room.

It was Ale's first game back today, Jordi and I had arrived at the stadium with her earlier on in the day. Her way of keeping the nerves at bay was to have us with her as much as she could, having Jordi around made her calmer, it made her less anxious about the big step in her career that she was taking later this afternoon as she had him to focus on.

"How is my little JJ doing?" Eli cooed at Jordi, smiling down at him as he happily lay in the pram.

"He's good, he only woke up once last night so he's full of energy today" I smiled.

"Can I?" She asked, gesturing down towards him.

"Of course! You don't need to ask Eli, he's your grandson"

Eli carefully picked him up, cradling him in her arms as she sat down on the seat opposite me.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, smiling across at me as Jordi happily gripped onto her finger.

"Nervous, I just really want everything to go well and for her to come off that pitch still in one piece"

"Me too"

Ale was obviously starting the game on the bench, Jonatan had told her beforehand that she wouldn't be coming on until the 75th minute at the earliest, today was just about getting a few minutes under her belt, and then they would slowly work on getting her back to full match fitness.

I made sure that Jordi was happy and settled in the baby carrier with his ear protectors on before heading out to the family section of the stands with Eli and Alba. I had been anxious about being so close to all of the fans with Jordi, but it turned out that I had no reason to be. They gave us space, waving and cooing at Jordi as we made our way to our seats, respecting the fact that we needed space and privacy.

When Ale came out of the tunnel with the rest of the substitutes, my heart flipped inside my chest, seeing her in full kit again with a smile on her face made me so proud. She had been through a lot with this injury, the ups, the downs, and everything in between, and seeing her back out there exactly where she belonged was everything.

Her eyes met mine as she walked towards the bench, she had her game face on, but I knew that she was finding this emotional by the way her eyes glistened in the sunlight. I sent her a brief smile and mouthed 'We love you' to her as she took her seat. Mapi waved at Jordi and I excitedly as she sat down next to Ale, she was also on the bench today and hadn't left Ale's side since the pre-match warm-up, which I was extremely grateful for. Ale needed her today, as much as she had said that she wasn't nervous and was just looking forward to getting on the pitch again, she needed a friend to keep her emotions under control and Mapi was the perfect person for that job. She knew when Ale needed cheering up and when she needed a shoulder to lean on.

When Ale came out to warm up in the 67th minute, the whole stadium cheered, their captain who they hadn't seen play in almost a year was returning and it was exciting for everyone. She kept her eyes trained on the grass as she jogged up and down the sideline, the noise and the expectation from the fans was a lot to deal with and she never liked letting herself get distracted by things outside of the pitch. My eyes remained focused on her as she stretched by the fourth official, she adjusted her socks and shin pads for the hundredth time as the substitution board was held up and the change was announced over the stadium speakers.

Coming off, number six Clàudia Pina and replacing her is number eleven, please welcome back our captain... Alexia Putellas!

The fourteen minutes that she spent on the pitch felt like a lifetime, every tackle, pass, shot, interception made me wince. I needed her off that pitch safely. She had a few good chances, none of them ended in a goal or assist, but that wasn't the aim of today... today was about minutes and getting back on the pitch, everything else would come in good time.

When the final whistle blew she slumped onto the grass and immediately covered her face with her shirt and that was when I knew the tears had started. Mapi was quickly by her side, reaching for her hands and pulling her up to her feet, before wrapping her arms around her shoulders. After a few moments of Mapi talking into her ear, she turned towards where we were sitting and blew us a kiss... that's when my tears started.

The trophy and medal ceremony lasted for well over an hour and during that time Jordi had grown restless, so I made my way back inside to the player's lounge to feed him and change his nappy while the team celebrated winning the league. He didn't settle though, all of the usual tricks that got him off to sleep failed, singing to him, rocking him in my arms, pushing him around in the pram... nothing was working and I wasn't at all surprised. This was the longest he had ever been out of the house, he was used to napping in his crib or on our chest, not in the pram that we had barely used.

"Is he ok?" Alba asked as she joined me in the now busy player's lounge. The celebrations on the pitch being over meant that everyone's friends and family had made their way inside to wait for the players and the room was suddenly much louder than before.

"I think today has been a bit too much for him... he's tired, but it's so loud in here that he can't sleep"

"Do you want me to take him for a bit?" Alba offered kindly, wanting to help in any way that she could.

"Thanks, Albs, but if he won't settle for me I don't think he's going to settle for anyone else" I smiled as I paced back and forth bouncing him up and down, feeling more and more overwhelmed by the constant crying.

"Give me one sec, I'll be right back," she said as made her way to the other end of the room, reappearing by my side a few moments later.
"Luisa said we can use one of the physio rooms" she smiled, before gathering all of my stuff and pushing the pram across the room to where the team physio was standing.

"I'll let Ale know where you are" Luisa smiled as she left Alba, Jordi, and I alone in the empty physio room, the quiet of our new surroundings immediately helping to calm Jordi down.

About fifteen minutes later, the door swung open and Ale came rushing in, a look of panic on her face.
"Are you two ok? Why aren't you upstairs? Where are Mama and Alba... I told them to stay with you"

"Ale, breathe. We're fine, it was just a bit loud up there for him and I told them to go and celebrate with everyone else, we don't all need to sit here and watch him sleep"

She let out a sigh of relief, making her way over to the pram in the corner of the room where Jordi was peacefully sleeping, smiling down at him. 

"Congratulations Mama" I whispered, wrapping my arms around her waist from behind and resting my chin on her shoulder.
"We're so proud of you" I mumbled into the crook of her neck, placing a kiss on her delicate skin, the salty taste of her sweat lingering on my lips.

"I love you both so much" She spoke softly, turning around in my arms.

"We love you too"

"Seeing you and Jordi in the stands was the best part of my day... not stepping on the pitch or kicking a ball again... you. It made me realize that football isn't the most important thing to me anymore, you two are" She smiled.

"You're just a big softie aren't you capitana" I teased, pulling her closer to me and planting my lips on hers.

"Don't you dare tell anyone" She mumbled into my lips.

"Do you know what the favourite part of my day was?" I asked, pulling out of the kiss, and glancing down at her lips before returning to the hazel eyes that I loved so much.

"Seeing you back in that kit, I mean... look at you" I smirked, tugging at her shirt slightly before returning my lips to hers for a short kiss.

"I'd be all over you right now if I hadn't had a baby four weeks ago"

"And if that baby wasn't sleeping right behind us" Ale laughed, pulling me into her chest and kissing the top of my head.