Barcelona forward Clàudia Pina has spoken about her excitement at returning to play at the Camp Nou ahead of the return of the UEFA Women’s Champions League this week.
Pina was a pivotal figure in the Barcelona side that regained the trophy with an emphatic victory over OL Lyonnes last season having been defeated finalists in Lisbon the year before. The Spaniard sat down with the media ahead of Barca’s fixture with Paris FC this week and The Halfway Line was there to hear from her.
Clàudia Pina hails the Camp Nou as ‘the best stadium in the world’
Clàudia Pina is one of the top footballers in the world game, and the greatest footballers deserve the grandest stages. In the past couple of years Barcelona have not been able to play their football at the Camp Nou as renovations were ongoing at the famous old ground.
However the Culers returned home for emphatic victories against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the knockout rounds of last year’s competition. The plan is for more matches to follow this year, that was put to Pina by The Halfway Line,
“Well, I’m very excited. It’s our stadium” Pina beamed. “It’s the best stadium in the world and I’m so excited to have some fantastic nights there.
Pina is not ‘feeling’ the pressure in Alexia’s absence
Much of the talk over the summer in the world of women’s football has centred around the departure of former Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas to London City Lionesses. The transfer means that this will be the first season Barcelona have had in Europe where Putellas has not been at the club.
The Halfway Line asked Pina if losing the two time Ballon d’Or winner means there is more pressure on the established figures in the team,
“No, I wouldn’t call it pressure” Pina replied. “I still want to move forward on the day-to-day basis.
“There’s some girls in the team that are really helping Barcelona. We still want to keep going and keep being the best team in the world, that’s our goal.
“So it’s not pressure that I’m feeling, it’s more the will to keep improving and moving forward.”
Barcelona kick off their European campaign against familiar opponents in Paris FC, who they faced in last year’s league phase. The match will kick off at 8pm at Estadi Johan Cruyff on Wednesday.
Follow the link to find out where you can watch all of this season’s UEFA Women’s Champions League action – https://wheretowatch.uefa.com/
