Historic Champions League debut for FCB Women's team

The FC Barcelona Women’s team will make its first-ever appearance in the Women’s Champions League this Wednesday at 19.00 (BarçaTV, Deporte 3, FCB’s YouTube channel) when the players managed by Xavi Llorens will take on Arsenal Ladies at the Miniestadi

Barça’s opponents

Arsenal Ladies are one of the most emblematic teams in the Women’s Premier League. In fact, the London-based side have won the competition 12 times. In addition to their domestic success, Arsenal Ladies also claimed European glory in the 2006/07 season when they won the Women’s Champions League for the first time. It’s a massive challenge for Llorens’ women, as the Arsenal Ladies squad is full of English internationals that ooze talent and quality.

The players are ready

The manager and the players are extremely excited to make their debut in the competition. Llorens noted that “we are very eager for the game to start, our objective is to get to the return leg with options to go onto the next round.” The team’s goalkeeper, Laura Ràflos, said that “this is a prize after playing for the Club for eight years. It’s a dream come true to play in the Champions League.” Sonia Bermúdez, the only Azulgrana to feature in the competition (with Rayo Vallecano), said that “the whole team was looking forward to this match when we won the League title in June.”

Work has its rewards

The Azulgranas, while eager to go as far in the competition as possible, aren’t putting unrealistic expectations on their tournament performance. In fact, for many of the Azulgrana players, the chance to feature in the Champions League is the prize for the team’s hard work and dedication last season.