Barcelona coach Jonatan Giráldez admitted that "it's a pride as a coach to have Alexia in the team" after the Barça midfielder won her second consecutive Ballon d'Or in Paris on Monday.
"The fact of having the best player in the world for the second consecutive year and five nominees, becoming the team with the most representation in the Ballon d'Or, motivates us to continue in this line of work. In the end, individual merits are achieved doing things well as a team”, added Giráldez at the press conference prior to the Champions League match against Benfica that will be played this Wednesday at the Estadi Johan Cruyff.
The coach revealed that "the first days after suffering the injury were very difficult for Alexia because she missed a very important competition (the European Championship) and she could lose a whole season with her team." In any case, he pointed out that "the strength he has to be a better athlete will help him when he returns to competition."
In addition, Giráldez explained that the rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that Alexia suffered during preparation for the European Championship "broke schemes" for him because "he was injured in the summer, when the planning for the season was already done."
Captain Marta Torrejón also spoke at the press conference, who had words of praise for her teammate: “I want to publicly congratulate Alexia. It is a luxury to have a player like her. Although she is not available to play the games she adds, she is with us every day. She from the outside she continues to contribute everything she has inside ".
Alexia Putellas received congratulations from her teammates on Tuesday before the Giráldez team's training session. The brand new Ballon d'Or went to the rehabilitation session as practically every day. Before it, she went to greet her colleagues who are preparing the premiere of the Champions League.
Dressed in a different kit from the rest of her teammates, Alexia, the first woman in history to lift two Ballon d'Or titles, received a hug from the players and the coaching staff and addressed a few words in an impromptu huddle. The player, along with some of her teammates and teammates from the Barça first team, as well as Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona, arrived in Barcelona from Paris at dawn.
