World Soccer - UK (2020-02)

Making up

for lost time

In the vast Barcelona Museum at Camp
Nou there is a solitary case devoted
to futbol femení with photographs,
trophies and a brief outline of the club’s
history. If it seems an afterthought, until
recently so did the team.
Though founded in 1970 and an
inaugural member of the Spanish league
in 1988, the women’s team was not fully
incorporated into the club until 2002,
at which time they were in the second
tier. Promotion, relegation and a further
promotion followed until, in 2012, they
finally won the league.
While that was the first of four
successive titles, Athletic Bilbao and then
Atletico Madrid usurped their crown, and
it is only in the last few years that the

Catalans have really decided to push
their women’s team.
First they made statement signings,
notably Brazil’s Andressa Alves, Lieke
Martens of Holland, England’s Toni
Duggan and Elise Bussaglia of France.
Their ranks bolstered, they began to
make an impact in Europe, reaching
the Champions League semi-finals
in 2017 and the 2019 Final.
This season they began by crushing
a new challenge, with the arrival in
the women’s game of Real Madrid.
Los Merengues are currently playing
under the name of CD Tacon – the
newly-promoted side that Real took
over control of last year – they play
in white, are based at Real’s training
ground and are Real Madrid in all but
name, a fact underlined when they
signed Swedish World Cup stars
Kosovare Asllani and Sofia Jakobsson.
The teams met on the opening
day of the new campaign and Barca,
ensconced in the new Estadio Johan
Cruyff, thumped their historic rivals
9-1. They followed that up by beating
champions Atletico Madrid 6-1,

despite conceding in the second minute,

and reached the winter break unbeaten,

with 12 wins in 13 games.

Spain international Jennifer Hermoso,

re-signed during the summer from

Atletico, led the way for Barca with 15

goals, while Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala and

new Norwegian recruit Caroline Graham

Hansen scored another 15 between them.

Atletico were second, five points adrift,

but they fell further behind in January,

held at Rayo Vallecano while Barca won

3-0 at Bilbao in front of 32,068 at San

Mames. If the title continues to drift away,

at least Atletico will have a chance of

revenge in the Champions League as the

Spanish pair have been drawn together in

the quarter-finals, when Atleti will be able

to field new recruit Deyna Castellanos, the

20-year-old Venezuelan controversially

nominated in the three-woman shortlist

for FIFA Best in 2017 while still an

uncapped student.

As for Tacon, they went into the new

year just below mid-table with 13 points

from as many games, before Barcelona

provided another reality check as they

won the January return fixture 6-0 with

Oshoala scoring four.

If Tacon are looking for inspiration they

can find it elsewhere in Iberia. The

women’s team of Portuguese giants

Benfica, who are in only their second

season, marked their debut campaign by

winning promotion and the Portuguese

Cup, and this term they went into the

winter break leading champions Sporting.

Spain aside, the major leagues took a

break with the usual suspects in charge;

Arsenal, Wolfsburg, Juventus and Lyon

are all on course to retain their titles.

In England the biggest developments

were off the pitch. Nick Cushing, who has

led Manchester City to one league title,

two FA Cups and three League Cups

announced he was quitting to become

assistant coach at MLS men’s club New

York City. Days earlier Chelsea gave a

debut to their Australian superstar Sam

Kerr. She missed a gilt-edged chance in

the first minute, but looked sharp in a

3-1 win over Reading. Just ahead of City

and Arsenal, as the WSL resumed, were

defending champions Arsenal.

While Kerr and Castellanos were

the most eye-catching early moves of

the January window, also notable was

Izzy Christiansen’s return to England

from Lyon in a coup for Everton.

Her old club are on course for a

14th successive French title, going

into the break with a five-point lead

over customary challengers Paris

Saint-Germain, with a goalless draw

at Dijon their only blemish so far.

Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich have

occupied the top two places in the

Germany for the last five seasons,

with the former champions the last

three years, but there is a new

Glenn Moore

Women’s Football

Prolific...Jennifer

Hermoso is back

at Barcelona

Star signing...Sam

Kerr of Chelsea

It is only in the last few years the Catalans have

really decided to push their women’s team

Barcelona women unbeaten

at the European winter break