Barcelona's European Champion Women's Team Has 39 Wins in 39 Games, a Goal Difference of 192-13 and Another 90,000+ Crowd Coming This Week. I Visited Catalonia to Learn More.
Grant, this piece is among your very best in a string of very good ones over the years. I cannot tell you what a QUALITATIVE jump this BARCELONA success is in the world of women's Association football and way beyond! It really bespeaks a cultural change with a speed that I did not foresee. Indeed, I will have to take this massive quantitative and qualitative change into account big time in my revisions of my book WOMEN IN AMERICAN SOCCER AND EUROPEAN FOOTBALL: DIFFERENT ROADS TO SHARED GLORY that I published before the World Cup in France in 2019 and will revise for publication before the World Cup down under in 2023. You were gracious enough to have me on your podcast in 2019 on this topic. Maybe I can eke out a repeat performance on your podcast sometime in 2023 featuring this topic.
You cannot imagine how truly honored I am for being compared to Charles Grodin in general but to his unique relationship with David Letterman in particular. And to be YOUR Charles Grodin -- there ain't nothing better. What really would interest me is WHEN and WHAT was the take off point when the women's game took off like a rocket in Spain and even elsewhere in Europe. And I mean on the CLUB LEVEL. That is what fascinates me because on the national team level it is quite simple: it's called NATIONALISM!!! But on the club level? What a change. I remember going to a TURBINE POTSDAM match against FRANKFURT, I believe, when there were not even 1,000 people in attendance and those were all the players' friends and relatives. Amazing!
“Barça’s training sessions have become ferocious and far more competitive than the team’s actual games”
Grant, this reminds me of the pod you did with Vlatko Andonovski, the USWNT coach, who thought his first training session was *too* competitive and wanted the team to tone it down. The players looked at him like he was nuts, and Carli Lloyd (?) basically told him “this is nothing; wait until the World Cup gets closer”.
I live outside Detroit (go DCFC!), and the Bad Boys Pistons team always said their games were nowhere near as physical as their practices.
To steal and paraphrase the PGA ads, “these girls are good!”
"...Spain and its Barcelona-heavy squad are one of the favorites to win next year’s women’s World Cup." are they, though? close observation of the Spain NT doesn't make them favorites to actually win anything, including the upcoming Euros this summer. Vilda needs to get so much more out of the talent he has in that roster before they're made favorites for any competition. they haven't proven they know how to win as a national team and certainly didn't seem on any certain trajectory as they sluggishly beat Scotland 2-0 with a dodgy pen involved in the scoring just this past international break.
I get a little anxious over celebrating the isolated events Barca decides to spend actual capital on marketing for the incredible Fem squad when you turn around and the very next weekend after selling out Camp Nou for a UWCL Clasico agains RM, they couldn't get 4,000 people into their home league match @ Johan Cruyff stadium (which they share with Barca B). But it is a great spectacle and I hope that people show up this weekend even though it's not the Clasico.
the CL blueprint is clear to beat them all you need is Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle in your starting midfield against them like City did in their 2nd leg 2-1 win during last seasons UWCL after Barca thumped them in the first leg when the lineup was all the England internationals with no plan B for their press with a rookie City academy coach. Oh, what could have been (only 1/2 joking here lol).
Loved this story. It is so amazing to see Spain support the Barça women's team so passionately and in massive numbers and to see such high quality play on the field! They've come a long way in a relatively short period of time. In the spring of 1995 I visited a college soccer teammate who was studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain. We went to a park with a soccer ball and I have such vivid memories of the interactions. Multiple Spanish men approached us and asked us what we were doing. They were utterly in disbelief that two women were playing soccer and actually had some skills. I was naively shocked. I was on my way to Sweden to follow the US team in the women's world cup and implored them to watch some of those games. They laughed in our faces and continued to confidently tell us that women don't play soccer and certainly couldn't play well. It left me with the impression that Spanish girls didn't have any access to soccer. Subsequent travels left me with similar impressions of extremely limited opportunities for girls in soccer in other countries. It brings me so much joy to see that this chauvinism is changing (rapidly?) and the Spanish women are absolutely excelling and bringing the world along for the ride. Thanks for featuring such an inspiring story!
Fascinating article, Grant--great work as usual. I can't wait for the 2023 WC (I will work on attending--I can't believe I've never seen a WWC game live despite being a big fan since the '99ers). Locally, there is something similar going on here in Seattle with the OL Reign in terms of stadiums--this is the first year the team will play all their home matches on the same pitch as the Sounders (Lumen Field). Great to see the women finally being afforded the same kind of facilities and treatment as the men (in some cases, anyway). I look forward to more coverage of women's soccer by you in the future!
Grant - two questions (1) why does the Spanish team lag Barca F by so much? Spain is ranked 5th by UEFA and while they did great in Euro 2022 qualifying, they were in a pretty bad group and tied Poland; (2) what are the chances of an Intercontinental Women's Cup? I think it would be awesome to see the NWSL champ take on a Women's league champ from Europe or the Women's Champions League winner. Would be so good for the women's game. Americans get up for big events and I think the idea of Trinity Rodman going up against Barcelona would be a marketers dream!
Grant, this piece is among your very best in a string of very good ones over the years. I cannot tell you what a QUALITATIVE jump this BARCELONA success is in the world of women's Association football and way beyond! It really bespeaks a cultural change with a speed that I did not foresee. Indeed, I will have to take this massive quantitative and qualitative change into account big time in my revisions of my book WOMEN IN AMERICAN SOCCER AND EUROPEAN FOOTBALL: DIFFERENT ROADS TO SHARED GLORY that I published before the World Cup in France in 2019 and will revise for publication before the World Cup down under in 2023. You were gracious enough to have me on your podcast in 2019 on this topic. Maybe I can eke out a repeat performance on your podcast sometime in 2023 featuring this topic.
You cannot imagine how truly honored I am for being compared to Charles Grodin in general but to his unique relationship with David Letterman in particular. And to be YOUR Charles Grodin -- there ain't nothing better. What really would interest me is WHEN and WHAT was the take off point when the women's game took off like a rocket in Spain and even elsewhere in Europe. And I mean on the CLUB LEVEL. That is what fascinates me because on the national team level it is quite simple: it's called NATIONALISM!!! But on the club level? What a change. I remember going to a TURBINE POTSDAM match against FRANKFURT, I believe, when there were not even 1,000 people in attendance and those were all the players' friends and relatives. Amazing!
“Barça’s training sessions have become ferocious and far more competitive than the team’s actual games”
Grant, this reminds me of the pod you did with Vlatko Andonovski, the USWNT coach, who thought his first training session was *too* competitive and wanted the team to tone it down. The players looked at him like he was nuts, and Carli Lloyd (?) basically told him “this is nothing; wait until the World Cup gets closer”.
I live outside Detroit (go DCFC!), and the Bad Boys Pistons team always said their games were nowhere near as physical as their practices.
To steal and paraphrase the PGA ads, “these girls are good!”
Great article, as usual.
"...Spain and its Barcelona-heavy squad are one of the favorites to win next year’s women’s World Cup." are they, though? close observation of the Spain NT doesn't make them favorites to actually win anything, including the upcoming Euros this summer. Vilda needs to get so much more out of the talent he has in that roster before they're made favorites for any competition. they haven't proven they know how to win as a national team and certainly didn't seem on any certain trajectory as they sluggishly beat Scotland 2-0 with a dodgy pen involved in the scoring just this past international break.
I get a little anxious over celebrating the isolated events Barca decides to spend actual capital on marketing for the incredible Fem squad when you turn around and the very next weekend after selling out Camp Nou for a UWCL Clasico agains RM, they couldn't get 4,000 people into their home league match @ Johan Cruyff stadium (which they share with Barca B). But it is a great spectacle and I hope that people show up this weekend even though it's not the Clasico.
the CL blueprint is clear to beat them all you need is Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle in your starting midfield against them like City did in their 2nd leg 2-1 win during last seasons UWCL after Barca thumped them in the first leg when the lineup was all the England internationals with no plan B for their press with a rookie City academy coach. Oh, what could have been (only 1/2 joking here lol).
The Curse of Grant strikes again. Barca hit the Wahl. Lyon! Lyon! Lyon!
Loved this story. It is so amazing to see Spain support the Barça women's team so passionately and in massive numbers and to see such high quality play on the field! They've come a long way in a relatively short period of time. In the spring of 1995 I visited a college soccer teammate who was studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain. We went to a park with a soccer ball and I have such vivid memories of the interactions. Multiple Spanish men approached us and asked us what we were doing. They were utterly in disbelief that two women were playing soccer and actually had some skills. I was naively shocked. I was on my way to Sweden to follow the US team in the women's world cup and implored them to watch some of those games. They laughed in our faces and continued to confidently tell us that women don't play soccer and certainly couldn't play well. It left me with the impression that Spanish girls didn't have any access to soccer. Subsequent travels left me with similar impressions of extremely limited opportunities for girls in soccer in other countries. It brings me so much joy to see that this chauvinism is changing (rapidly?) and the Spanish women are absolutely excelling and bringing the world along for the ride. Thanks for featuring such an inspiring story!
Fascinating article, Grant--great work as usual. I can't wait for the 2023 WC (I will work on attending--I can't believe I've never seen a WWC game live despite being a big fan since the '99ers). Locally, there is something similar going on here in Seattle with the OL Reign in terms of stadiums--this is the first year the team will play all their home matches on the same pitch as the Sounders (Lumen Field). Great to see the women finally being afforded the same kind of facilities and treatment as the men (in some cases, anyway). I look forward to more coverage of women's soccer by you in the future!
Grant - two questions (1) why does the Spanish team lag Barca F by so much? Spain is ranked 5th by UEFA and while they did great in Euro 2022 qualifying, they were in a pretty bad group and tied Poland; (2) what are the chances of an Intercontinental Women's Cup? I think it would be awesome to see the NWSL champ take on a Women's league champ from Europe or the Women's Champions League winner. Would be so good for the women's game. Americans get up for big events and I think the idea of Trinity Rodman going up against Barcelona would be a marketers dream!