One of the largest stadiums in the world, with a capacity for 99,354 fans, has recently seen its seats full, indeed full, of people.
Not, however, in the matches of the very traditional men’s team, which has not had Messi for a few months and has had a mediocre season, even though it improved after the change of coach in November 2021 – Ronald Koeman left, Xavi joined.
It is the women’s team, very little exposed in the media – just like all the others –, who are responsible for animating and exhilarating the fans of the very popular club in blue and maroon uniforms.
The first milestone for Barça women came at the end of March, when, in the quarter-finals in the Champions League, they eliminated their biggest rival, Real Madrid, by winning 5-2. It had been the first performance of the Catalan team, with gates open at Camp Nou.
The audience at the stadium, at 91,553, was the highest so far in a women’s interclub duel. The previous one was from 2019, when the Wanda Metropolitano stadium had 60,739 fans in Atlético de Madrid 0 x 2 Barcelona.
That mark was overturned this Friday (22), when, for the semifinals of the Champions, Barcelona applied a forceful 5 to 1 in the German Wolfsburg, with 91,648 people Camp Nou.
The home team’s goals were scored by Alexia Putellas (2), who is the current best player in the world (she won the Golden Ball and also the The Best award), Aitana BonmatÃ, Caroline Graham Hansen and Jenni Hermoso. Jill Hoord scored the visitors’ goal.
Graham Hansen, a Norwegian forward, summed up the team’s feeling about the capacity of the Campo Nou ahead of the Wolfsburg clash: “Not many men in football have played in front of 90,000 people.”
While the women’s Barça delights – they have been undefeated for 41 games, and all of those 41 were victories, with 33 routs and even a 10-1 at Sevilla – and fill the stadium, the men’s Barça recorded an average of 65,864 people in the five most recent events at Camp Nou.
In these, Piqué, Daniel Alves, Busquets and company recorded two victories, one draw and two defeats, one of them resulting in elimination in the Europa League, against the German Eintracht Frankfurt.
Europa League because not even in the Champions League, the main championship in Europe, the men of Barcelona managed to maintain themselves, not getting the classification for the knockouts in their group – Bayern Munich and Benfica passed.
That is, the team has not played enough to fill the stadium.
Meanwhile, the women of Barça, coached by Jonatan Giráldez, 30, easily won the Spanish Championship and progressed very well in the classification for the Champions League decision, as they have a very big advantage for the return match, in Germany.
Barcelona are the current champions of the Women’s Champions League. The other semifinal is between France’s Lyon, winners from 2016 to 2020, and Paris Saint-Germain. The final will be in Turin on the 21st of May.
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Time: The most popular game in women’s football took place in 1971 in Mexico City, according to ESPN. On September 5, 1971, for the second edition of the World Championship, which is not recognized by FIFA as an official tournament, the Danes defeated the Mexicans 3-0 with 110,000 fans in the stands at the Azteca Stadium. Argentina, Italy, England and France also participate in this competition.
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