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91,553. It was a number that created history and one with the potential to change the future. Barca Femeni beat Real Madrid Femenino 5-2 (8-3 on aggregate) to progress to the semifinals of the UEFA Women's Champions League. However, it was a match much bigger than the scoreline, much more significant than the result.
Let's look at the firsts because there were plenty of them. The match was a part of the first-ever Clasico in the UWCL. In fact, it's Real Madrid's first-ever season in the competition. Much more importantly, it was the first time that Barca Femeni played on the hallowed Camp Nou turf. Even more importantly, it broke the record for the highest attendance in a women's football match, ever. In fact, the game had more attendance than any other game in Europe this season, male or female.
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Alexia Putellas, the current Ballon D'Or holder and scorer of Barca's 4th goal on the night, said that she never expected to be playing at Camp Nou. Hailing from a family of diehard Barca fans, she'd go to the Camp Nou as a kid but never thought that she'd play there, because it was supposed to be for men.
On Wednesday night, there were dozens of little girls in the stadium, sporting Barca jerseys with Alexia #11 on the back. They wouldn't have gone back thinking that it was a place where only men were supposed to play.
The match itself was a spectacle too. Barca were at their imperious level but Real gave them a good fight for a long time.
Center-back Mapi Leon scored the opener from near the dugout as her cross-shot viciously curled past the hands of Real's keeper. The club from the capital responded from the spot and the scores were equal going into the break. The Blaugrana were much more dominant but the scoresheet said 1-1.
Just after the start of the second half, Real led through a Claudia Zornoza wondergoal. She saw the keeper off her line and let it fly almost from the halfway line. The goal seemed to flick a switch for Barca as they scored four in the next 22 mins. Aitana Bonmati, Claudia Pina, Alexia and Caroline Graham Hansen were the scorers.
In the stands, there was a party atmosphere throughout. The team celebrated with them after the game, taking it all in. When Alexia scored, she bowed in front of the crowd. The Camp Nou responded with chants of 'Alexia! Alexia!', like they would have chanted Messi or Xavi's name in the past.
The Barcelona men's first-team manager was there in attendance, as was Carles Puyol and several of the men's team. No one wanted to miss out on a piece of history. Xavi has hailed Barca Femeni in the past as examples the men's team should look up to. Puyol has been a very vocal supporter and addressed the team before the game.
The Camp Nou was loud, colorful, boisterous, and for good reason. The last time the stadium was like this, the occasion was Andres Iniesta's last game for the club.
The truth is that there hasn't been a reason to be this happy for some time. The men's team has struggled and for a long time people were not allowed in because of the pandemic. This was a celebration of seeing the women's team play there for the first time and make history.
The extremely beautiful mosaic created by the fans read 'More than Empowerment'. And it was more than just empowerment. It was about recognizing the unreal level at which Barca Femeni have played over the last two seasons. It was about the city and the fanbase celebrating perhaps the most dominant sports team in the world.
They are yet to be defeated in any game this season, not even a single draw. They have outscored the opposition by 176 goals to 12 in all competitions this season. Last season was pretty much the same as they won the treble.
It is being said that Barca Femeni will be back to the Camp Nou for the UWCL semifinals. If this game was to serve as an indication, they will be back many more times and so will the fans.
This was also a slap to the face of the people who said that nobody wants to watch women's football. In addition to the 91,553 at the stadium, around 200,000 watched the official YouTube streams. Alexia Putellas said in the pre-match press conference that this could be a before and after moment for women's football. This could be it. Women's football's Christ-birth moment.
