25 years since Barça's first trophy in women's football

25 years since Barça's first trophy in women's football

CF Barcelona beat Oroquieta in a close cup final in 1994

June 26 marks 25 years since the first official trophy for Barça in women's football. It was a Copa de la Reina triumph for CF Barcelona against Oroquieta Villaverde in 1994.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the Blaugrana were represented by a team under the name Club Femení Barcelona, with the same colours and facilities as Barça, albeit without being officially a section of the FC Barcelona setup. It was a time before even semi-professional women's football existed in Spain, and the players would even have to put in money from their own pockets. They trained twice a week -three times if there was an important game- on the pitches annexed to the Miniestadi. Some of the players lived far away from Barcelona, affecting scheduling: With training sessions ending at 11pm, they could easily arrive home as late as 2am.

The first state competition in women's football was the Copa de la Reina, introduced in 1984/85. Club Femení Barcelona were one of the founding clubs in the first 'Superliga' in 1988/89. They would be mainstays in the top flight and achieve their first successes in the cup, reaching the final in a losing effort against Añorga KKE in 1991 and winning the tournament three years later.

The first Copa de la Reina

On June 26, 1994, the team won their first Copa de la Reina. They beat Oroquieta Villaverde 2-1 at Las Rozas in Madrid. CF Barcelona were the underdogs against the 1993/94 league champions, whom they had finished 8 points behind in the table. Some 400 spectators -the majority supporting Oroquieta- turned out for the match, played amidst stifling heat at the Navalcarbón stadium.

Defender Mari Àngels would be sent off, but despite the numberical disadvantage it would be CF Barcelona who lifted the trophy. Olga scored in the 16th minute, followed up by Africa converting a penalty in the 35th minute. Mari Mar pulled a goal back for Oroquieta in the second half, and also had a chance to equalise from the penalty spot. The player considered the best in Spain at the time faced off against Barça goalkeeper Roser Serra, who had been playing with a foot injury almost from the start of the game. The keeper guessed the right way, making an heroic save to ensure that the cup went back to the Catalan capital.

The team, coached by Luis de la Peña consisted of: Roser, Ani (Marina), Keti, Mari Ángeles, Olga, Àfrica, Isu, Carol, Esther (Ari), Maite and Mari.

The cup winners arrived home and immediately visited Núria Llansà, the head of Club Femení Barcelona who had not been able to attend the final through illness.

Eight years later, on June 26, 2002, Club Femení Barcelona were officially incorporated into FC Barcelona, given the name 'FC Barcelona Femenì' (FC Barcelona Women). In the summer of 2015, they turned professional, and their official trophy haul currently stands at 19.

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