Alexia Putellas

Alexia Putellas Segura (born 4 February 1994) is Spanish footballer, currently playing in female Primera División for FC Barcelona,[3] with which she has played the Champions League,[4] won four league titles and two Spanish cups. She previously played for RCD Espanyol and Levante UD.[5]

Alexia Putellas
Putellas with Barcelona in 2019
Personal information
Full name Alexia Putellas Segura[1]
Date of birth (1994-02-04) 4 February 1994[1]
Place of birth Mollet del Vallés, Catalonia, Spain[2]
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Attacking midfielder, Winger
Club information
Current team
 Barcelona
Number 11
Youth career
2001–2005 Sabadell
2005–2006 Barcelona
2006–2010 Espanyol
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Espanyol 24 (3)
2011–2012 Levante 34 (15)
2012– Barcelona 198 (77)
National team‡
2011–2013 Spain U19 20 (13)
2013– Spain 77 (15)
2014– Catalonia 3 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 April 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 March 2020
This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Putellas and the second or maternal family name is Segura.

Club career

Putellas spent a year in Barcelona's youth academy and then spent four years in Espanyol's youth academy until her full first team debut in 2010.

Espanyol

She was a part of the Espanyol squad that won the 2010 Copa de la Reina in a 3–1 win vs Rayo Vallecano.[6]

In 2011, she started in the final of the Copa de la Reina de Fútbol for Espanyol, where they lost in extra time versus her future club, Barcelona.[7] A month after the final, at age 17, she signed for Levante and had a successful 2011–2012 campaign, scoring 15 goals in 34 matches.[8]

Return to Barcelona

Putellas returned to Barcelona in 2012 and is currently the club's second captain.[9]

In the 2013 final of the Copa de la Reina, she scored Barcelona's third goal versus Prainsa Zaragoza, which made headlines in the Spanish media.[10][11]

Putellas was an integral part of Barcelona's 2014 Copa de la Reina campaign, scoring in each round of the knockout stage. Barcelona advanced past the quarterfinals against Real Sociedad with an aggregate score of 1–0, a Putellas goal in the away leg being the tie decider.[12] In the home leg of the semifinals, she scored in a 2–1 Barcelona home win versus Rayo. That tie would end up finishing 3–1, propelling the team to the final against Athletic Club.[13] Putellas scoring an outside-the-box goal in extra time of the final meant a penalty shootout for Barcelona, where she scored the game-winning fifth penalty and earned her fifth major club trophy.[14]

In the 2016–2017 season, Barcelona reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in the club's history. They were knocked out 5–1 on aggregate by Paris Saint Germain, where Putellas started both matches.[15][16]

Putellas (left) with Barcelona during the 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League Final

In the 2018–2019 season, she regularly started in midfield as they made it to the final of the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in the club's history. Putellas started both games versus Bayern, where Barcelona won 2–0 on aggregate.[17] [18] On May 18, 2019, Putellas started in FCB Femení's first ever UWCL final versus Lyon, who went on to win the match 4–1.[19] She ended the season as Barcelona's top scorer in the league with 16 goals and overall with 18 goals.

For the first few months of the 2019–2020 season, she captained the side during Vicky Losada's hamstring injury, but began to start as captain in most matches by default as Losada transitioned to an off-the-bench role. On September 7th, 2019, she became the first player to ever score at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in the first edition of the women's El Clásico, a 9–1 win versus Real Madrid Femenina.[20] In February of the following year, she started and captained both legs of the first ever Supercopa de España Femenina. In the final, she scored a brace in a 1–10 thrashing of Real Sociedad, winning her first major title with the club in two years.[21] Later in the month, she made her 300th appearance for Barcelona against Huelva, and was honored at Estadi Johan Cruyff for the milestone in March.[22][23]

International career
Putellas with Spain in 2018

After taking part in Spain's triumphs in the 2010 and 2011 U-17 European Championships,[24][25] she won her first cap for the senior national team in a 2–2 pre-tournament friendly draw with Denmark in Vejle.[26] The following day, national team coach Ignacio Quereda confirmed her as a member of his 23-player squad for the 2013 European Championship finals in Sweden.[27] At the tournament she scored the overtime winner in Spain's 3–2 victory over England.[28][note 1] Putellas also played 90 minutes as Spain were eliminated in the quarter-final by Norway.

Putellas was called up as part of Spain's squad at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, their first ever participation in a World Cup.[1] She started every game in the tournament, where Spain put up an uninspiring display of two losses and a draw. Her and her 22 teammates in the squad called for the resignation of long-tenured coach Ignacio Quereda, citing poor preparation for the tournament and lost confidence.[29]

Under new coach Jorge Vilda, Putellas started in each of Spain's group stage games at the UEFA Women's Euro 2017, where they advanced to the knockouts on a head-to-head tiebreaker with a record of one win and two losses. Spain was defeated by Austria on penalties, where she was subbed in at the 68th minute.[30]

Putellas represented Spain at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, their second ever appearance in the tournament. She played in each of Spain's three group stage games where they advanced to the round of 16, making it Spain's most successful run in a World Cup. Spain put up an impressive display against the United States women's national soccer team, the eventual tournament winners. Putellas started that match, which ended up a 1–2 loss to the United States.[31]

International goals
Alexia Putellas – goals for  Spain
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.12 July 2013Arena Linköping, Linköping England2–32–3UEFA Women's Euro 2013
2.10 February 2015Pinatar Arena, San Pedro del Pinatar Austria1–02–1Friendly
3.27 October 2015Sonera Stadium, Helsinki Finland0–11–2UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying
4.29 January 2016Stadion pod Malim brdom, Petrovac Montenegro0–30–7
5.8 April 2016Complexo Desportivo da Covilhã, Covilhã Portugal0–21–4
6.15 September 2016La Ciudad del Fútbol, Las Rozas de Madrid Montenegro12–013–0
7.30 June 2017Pinatar Arena, San Pedro del Pinatar Belgium1–07–0Friendly
8.3–0
9.28 November 2017Estadi de Son Moix, Palma Austria1–04–02019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
10.5 March 2018AEK Arena - Georgios Karapatakis, Larnaca Czech Republic2–02–02018 Cyprus Women's Cup
11.7 June 2018La Condomina, Murcia Israel2–02–02019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
12.8 November 2018Butarque, Leganés Poland2–13–1Friendly
13.5 March 2020Exploria Stadium, Orlando, Florida Japan1–03–12020 SheBelieves Cup
14.11 March 2020Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas England1–01–0
Alexia Putellas – goals for  Catalonia
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 December 2016A Lomba, Vilagarcia de Arousa Galicia0–20–5Friendly

Honours

Club
RCD Espanyol
FC Barcelona

International
Spain

Individual

Awards and recognition

Along with Gerard Piqué, Alexia Putellas was named the best Catalan Player of the Year in 2015. Putellas was selected ahead of Spain teammates Marta Torrejón and Marta Corredera. Being key in Barcelona's fourth straight La Liga title and her participation in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup were crucial for winning the award.[32]

Notes
  1. Although UEFA credit the goal to Putellas, other sources including the British Broadcasting Corporation attribute it as an own goal by England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley. Putellas failed to connect with Adriana Martín's left wing cross but Bardsley's face diverted the ball into the goal.

References
  1. "List of Players – 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  2. "Alexia profile". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  3. Alexia Putellas signs for FC Barcelona. Archived 23 January 2013 at Archive.today futfem.com, 10/07/12
  4. Profile in UEFA's website
  5. Profile Archived 6 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine in Levante's website
  6. "Espanyol revalidates its title of the Copa de la Reina". MARCA. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  7. "FC Barcelona, campeón de la Copa de SM La Reina tras vencer al RCD Espanyol (1-0)" (in Spanish). rfef.es. 19 June 2011. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  8. "Alexia Putellas, nueva incorporación del Levante UD Femenino". 11 July 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  9. "FC Barcelona Femení on Twitter: THE CAPTAINS / LES CAPITANES / LAS CAPITANAS". Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  10. Barcelona wins the Cup with an unforgettable gol by Alexia Putellas. El Correo, 16 June 2013
  11. Alexia: "The best thing about my goal is the repercussion it brings to women's football." Marca, 17 June 2013
  12. "Sin sorpresas en la Copa de la Reina". 25 May 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  13. "Copa de la Reina: semifinales (vuelta)". 13 June 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  14. "FULL-TIME: FC Barcelona 1-1 (5-4 PSO) Athletic Club – Copa de la Reina Final (21 June 2014)". 21 June 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  15. "Barcelona-Paris- Line-ups - UEFA Women's Champions League UEFA.com". 22 April 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  16. "Paris-Barcelona - UEFA Women's Champions League - UEFA.com". 29 April 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  17. "Bayern 0–1 Barça Women: First blood to the blaugrana". 21 April 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  18. "Barça Women 1-0 Bayern Munich: A historic win!". 28 April 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  19. "Olympique Lyonnais 4 – 1 FC Barcelona: Runners up in Europe". 18 May 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  20. "CD Tacón come crashing down to earth with a bang". allforxi.com. SB Nation. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  21. "Real Sociedad 1-10 Barça Women: Super Cup Champions!". fcbarcelona.com. FC Barcelona. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  22. "Barça 7-0 Sporting Huelva: The goal spree continues". fcbarcelona.com. FC Barcelona. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  23. "Barça Women 5-0 Madrid CFF: Still unbeaten at home". fcbarcelona.com. FC Barcelona. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  24. Putellas promises more from in-form Spain. UEFA
  25. Alba Pomares gives the Under-17 to Spain. Marca
  26. Martín González, Cesáreo (29 June 2013). "Dinamarca 2–2 España: grandes sensaciones en la última prueba preparatoria" (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  27. "Spain stick with tried and trusted". Uefa.com. UEFA. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  28. The Euro is on Spain's side. Marca, 12 July 2013. Javier de la Casa.
  29. "Spain's Women's team feel Quereda's time is up -AS.com". Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  30. "UEFA Women's EURO 2017 - History - Austria-Spain - UEFA.com". 30 July 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  31. "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019™ - Matches - Spain - USA - FIFA.com". 24 June 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  32. "Gerard Piqué y Alexia Putellas, mejores jugadores catalanes del año". FC Barcelona.
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