Now a global icon, Alexia Putellas presented her first documentary 'Alexia: Labor Omnia Vincit' (work conquers all) this Tuesday in Barcelona. A series of three chapters that narrates what has been a hectic last year for the azulgrana with the two Ballon d'Ors won and the Camp Nou sold out, but with difficult moments such as the defeat in the Champions League final in Turin or the injury before the Eurocup.
The Teatre Lliure in Barcelona has been the luxury setting for personalities from all walks of life, making it clear that Alexia Putellas is today a star of the highest level. Gemma Mengual, Ona Carbonell, Rigoberta Bandini... in addition to several of her teammates from the first team and the Barça subsidiary. A somewhat chaotic act that started an hour and a half late.
The last to appear on the red carpet was Alexia Putellas. On the one year anniversary of the first Ballon d'Or won in Paris, the star of the night appeared with a dazzling sequined design by the Catalan Teresa Helbig that captured all eyes on her.
Alexia Putellas was always a magnificent soccer player, but after making history by winning her first Ballon d'Or last year, she became an icon. She went from 400,000 to a million followers on Instagram –now it exceeds two million- and brands began to raffle her off as the image of her campaigns. "The Ballon d'Or changes everything," the soccer player acknowledges in the documentary, where she explains that after this award she begins "a new life" that she did not know. A life with photo sessions, meetings, interviews... that she has to combine with her work on green, something that made her want to disappear from the media spotlight: "Sometimes I wanted them to forget about me," she confesses.
If this documentary reveals anything, it is Alexia Putellas' obsessive relationship with soccer. "95% of the decisions I make in my life are based on whether or not it will improve my performance," he confesses, acknowledging that he is only allowed to disconnect for one week a year and aware of the pressure he is subjected to on a daily basis. : “I may seem a bit crazy, but it is the requirement. From the outside they may think that this is super toxic, that this does not make you live, but it gives me life. My professional life is short, how can I not make the most of it!“.
She does not show complexes when it comes to admitting that she "wanted to be the best in the world". “Alexia is tough. She is so demanding of herself, that she makes you demand yourself too, ”explains her teammate at Barça Jana Fernàndez. "She lives soccer in a very heavy way," adds Mapi León. They are just two of the many voices that surrender to the midfielder's talent: Xavi Hernández, Lewandosky, Gerard Piqué, Jonatan Giráldez, Xavi Llorens, Virginia Torrecilla, Nadine Kessler or Camille Abily, among others.
The defeat in Turin was a real jug of cold water for the Barca captain, who was seen completely broken on the pitch at Juventus Stadium. “She felt that we had failed a lot of people, she couldn't look at the stands”, she admits in the documentary in which she confesses that she arrived at this match physically and mentally exhausted. Barça went from “feeling like they could close the circle” to the bitterest defeat of all.
But he recovered. She finished the season, she allowed herself to disconnect for a few days in Ibiza with her friends, she charged her batteries by spending time with her family and she came back with more energy than ever, ready to lead Spain in the European Championship of England. Then, with a few days to go before her debut, the worst nightmare comes true. “We were training, I dribbled past a defense and when I go to support my leg to shoot I hear a crack and I fall to the ground. So I start repeating 'it can't be', 'I can't believe it'... They lift me up, I take a step and my leg goes away. I'm out".
In one of the most emotional and hard moments of the documentary, Alexia can be seen destroyed by pain and scared for the future: “I was very sorry. It was as if this Alexia ended and another one was going to come out of here, I don't know if it was better or worse. I felt nostalgic to let this Alexia go.”
The face and the cross of sport in less than a year: "In the same season I have won a Ballon d'Or and have undergone surgery," he explains, aware that glory can be very ephemeral. "I've done everything I could, I've enjoyed it and if I can't play again, I'm at peace," he went on to say, still under the effects of the shock caused by the injury. An idea that she will end up discarding at the end of the documentary, already immersed in the process of recovery and feeling strong: “He had said that he was at peace if he couldn't play again. No way!"
