MADRID (AP) — Alexia Putellas doesn’t have fond memories of the last Women’s European Championship, when she tore a knee ligament on the eve of the tournament in England three years ago.
Things are different now as Spain prepares for its campaign at Euro 2025 in Switzerland, with Putellas saying she's better than ever and ready to try to lead Spain to its first title in the competition.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s a competition that I had in my sights after the injury I suffered just before the start of the last Euro,” she said. “I’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time and I want to enjoy it.”
The two-time world player of the year was coming off one of her most impressive seasons when she injured her left knee during a practice session just days before Spain’s opener at Euro 2022. It kept her out of action for nearly a year and dealt a blow to Spain’s chances in the tournament, where it was ousted by England in the quarterfinals.
Putellas says she has improved a lot since then, even though other Spanish players such as Aitana Bonmatí — a two-time Ballon d’Or winner herself — have emerged as top stars.
“Without a doubt I’m a better Alexia,” she said. “I know myself a lot better, I know my qualities, I know what I have been working on. In the end, all the suffering makes you evolve as a person and as an athlete. I’ve learned to manage the bad moments a lot better, as well as the good moments.”
Putellas has had another outstanding season and is again among the favorites for the world player of the year award. She thrived as Barcelona won the domestic treble and reached another Champions League final.
“The individual award is not something too important for me,” the 31-year-old Putellas said. “But it would show that you’ve done something good and, from where I’m coming from — from the lowest of the lowest after the injury — it would give some value to the effort that it was put into the recovery. We’ll see, but the most important thing is to win the Euro.”
Bonmatí won the last two world player of the year awards, and she is now the one enduring an ordeal as after falling ill with viral meningitis just a few days before Spain traveled to Switzerland for the tournament. Bonmatí was released from the hospital on Sunday to rejoin the national squad, but it still wasn't clear how much she would participate.
Spain will open its tournament Thursday against Portugal. It will also face Belgium and Italy in Group B. The nation's best result in the European tournament was a semifinals appearance in 1997.
Spain established itself as one of the powerhouses in women’s soccer by winning the World Cup in 2023 and the inaugural Women’s Nations League in 2024. It then just missed out on a medal at the Paris Olympics, when it lost to Brazil in the semifinals and to Germany in the bronze-medal match.
“It's never easy to win a Euro," Putellas said. "We need to have maximum respect toward the other nations. There are great teams participating. But we have a lot of faith in our team, and if we give our best we will be that much closer to winning.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
