They were not the 20,000 people that the capacity allowed, but the fans gathered en masse in the center of Barcelona to cheer on their players as if they were at the Turin stadium.
The match had not started yet, but the thousands of people gathered in Catalonian square they lived it as if they were in Turin. They were not the 20,000 that the capacity allowed, but they made it look like it. The iconic “partit day” sounded as loud as it did in the two attendance records of the Camp Nou. And the party deserved it. Those players deserved it. They were a few minutes away from playing the third final in four years.
With the first image of Juventus Stadium on the giant screen, fans erupted. In Italy or in Barcelona, the players needed them. And they did not need to listen to the idyllic anthem of the Champions League. The team of his life was enough for them. From the whole camp it’s a clamor to Barça, Barça, Barça with raised hands. They left their voice just like the soccer players would leave their skin on the field. In this and in the other two finals.
drums resounding
Not even an overwhelming Lyon or a goal after five minutes that changed the plans of Jonathan Giraldez, would leave fans crestfallen who knew what they were facing. Amadine Henry dwarfed the former European champions, but not those present at Plaza Catalunya. “I si tots animem, guanyarem”, they sang at the top of their lungs just two seconds after the French team took Barça away from their second European title.
The second and third goals arrived, but the Catalans they did not lower their arms. Neither in Barcelona nor in Turin. And although his faces seemed to recall the match in Budapest, his voices did not pay attention to the instincts that marked reason. The drums continued to resonate with the thousands of fans who attended. The incessant ‘Barça, Barça, Barça’ was not interrupted by the superiority of Olympique.
believe until the end
came the Captain Alexia to the rescue and all culé cheered a historic player. And he celebrated that as much as if they had won the Champions League. Hope reigned again. Barça was, again, recognizable. And the hands of the fans returned to point to the sky. The anthem resounded again. Even for the hotel Residents, who looked out onto the balcony to see the thousands of Catalan fans.
In the second half everything went to more. Those present threw their hands to their heads with every attempt to dribble Graham Hansen. Opportunities were not lacking to overcome a brilliant Endler. As the azulgranas did not lack reasons to believe. They vibrated with each stop of the goalkeeper Sandra Cloths. The applause did not stop for even a few seconds. Nor the reproaches to a collegiate who forgave the red to the fearsome Ada Hegerberg.
Aitana, Crnogorcevic and Alexia tried it. And though it wasn’t enough the fans continued to cheer the team to come back from a match that was against them almost before it started. They had already shown that they could rule Europe. And although Olympique was still one step above, hope was not lost.
almost perfect season
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The azulgranas flags continued to wave in the square. And that man who wore the number ‘4’ of Mary Leon applauded every rejection of a footballer who showed enough anticipation to stop the best striker in the world. The added 7 minutes only made the fans more desperate who wanted to see their team play. But Olympique’s continued attempts to stop the game did not fail. In its tenth finalThey knew exactly what they had to do to lift the Champions League.
The Barça had thrown of pride, equal that in budapest. Almost no one left the game despite the unfavorable 3-1. And when the referee blew the final whistle, the Catalans continued to behave as if they were in Turin. They clapped loudly the players from a distance. A near-perfect season wouldn’t undo that loss. And although the distance does continue to exist when it comes to Lyon, the players have already shown that they will fight until it vanishes.