Rolfö: "The rule should not be a taboo subject in football"

At 9.30 am on Monday, the training fields of the Ciudad Deportiva del Barcelona are empty of footballers.

You can only hear the lawnmower that prepares field 5, in which the Barça women's team begins to prepare for the semifinal of the Champions League against Wolfsburg at the Camp Nou (the first leg, this Friday at 6:45 p.m., DAZN; Lyon -PSG is the other duel).

And the smell of grass comes out.

According to Diego Maradona, the most beautiful perfume in the world.

“In my country, in winter, we played on artificial grass, but in summer we played on natural grass.

So luckily I smelled this smell many times before I moved here.

But yes, I agree with Maradona”, explains Fridolina Rolfö (Kungsbacka, Sweden; 28 years old), an FC Barcelona footballer and former Wolfsburg player.

The Swedish, who has 13 goals and 17 assists in the season,

She seems happy and eager to talk.

She knows when to be spontaneous and when to be thoughtful.

She never hides her naturalness.

She arrives before the agreed time for the interview and she is already prepared with training clothes.

Except for a pair of street shoes from Puma, the brand that she sponsors.

The German company launched a brand of underwear last March so that women can use it when they have their period.

Ask.

Is the rule a taboo in sport?

Response.

It is.

At least, it feels that way.

Q.

Why?

A.

I don't know.

It is rare that it is like this because it is something natural and should not be taboo.

It's something all women go through.

I think it's good that this is being talked about, it's important to give a message of normality.

Here is something we talked about.

P.

With your companions?

R.

Yes and with the club.

Sometimes you feel sick or in pain.

The day you have your period you are not perfect.

At least I don't feel that way.

So, it's something you have to talk about.

You are not one hundred percent and you are weaker.

P.

Do you prefer not to play those days?

R.

I always want to play.

But when you have your period, they are days in which you have more possibilities of injuring yourself.

I want to play, but I know my body isn't as good as it could be.

P.

What is a taboo subject can be related to the lack of references?

R.

I do not know if it has to do with that.

My generation began to have references.

When I was little, women's soccer began to be shown on television and more soccer players appeared in the media.

In that sense, I was lucky.

Because the girls who were older than me hadn't had them.

P.

_

Did the Brazilian Marta change the way of understanding women's football?

R.

When Marta arrived in Sweden, my eyes were opened.

Q.

In what sense?

R.

It was like my first reference for a different style of play.

I was used to seeing footballers who were athletes and Marta, in some way, had the style of Barça.

She was fast, technical, she was looking for associative football and she had an incredible reading of the matches.

She was on another level.

Q.

Would it make that much of a difference at this time as well?

R.

Now it would be just as good.

Sure.

Q.

With the permission of Alexia Putellas…

R.

_

Well [laughs], they are different.

Marta took a lot of risks and Alexia does too, but in a different way.

Marta was more explosive, Alexia more thoughtful.

They are two incredible footballers.

P.

What did you think of Barcelona when they met as a Wolfsburg player in the 2020 Champions League semifinal?

R.

We believed that it was a great team, that it knew how to dominate games with the ball, but that it was not as effective.

I think that this could be the big difference with Barcelona now.

This team creates many scoring situations and marks them.

And it has also grown as a collective.

Something normal when maintaining the base of a team.

The players have grown a lot in terms of football, but also mentally.

It is a young team.

Fridolina Rolfö, during the interview.Kike Rincon (EL PAÍS)

P.

How is the adaptation to Barcelona?

R.

The first weeks were hard.

Everything here is very different from where it came from.

Training, for example.

There is more possession work.

And the spaces are very small.

So, you have to make faster decisions.

And you have to play all the time.

I was more used to more functional technical exercises, passes to the closest teammate.

Here all the time you have to move your head.

You can never relax.

It's very intense all the time.

P.

Do you have to think more?

A.

Yes. You could say it that way.

One of the big differences has to do with timing and accuracy.

The technique is superior here and the ball goes faster.

Q.

Is it more fun?

A.

I love it.

I enjoy every day.

Although, obviously, I enjoy when I win.

P.

You have a lot of fun then, Barça have not lost any games this season [they have won the 39 games they have played].

R.

I have to be honest.

Playing against Wolfsburg is more fun than against a team from the bottom of the table.

The game will be more intense and exciting.

And playing at the Camp Nou is something special.

P.

You had already played in front of a large public.

R.

Yes, before 80,000 people.

But the Camp Nou experience was unique [in the quarterfinals against Real Madrid, the attendance record was broken: 91,553 spectators].

The fans were very involved in the game and everyone was with us.

They shouted and sang the whole game.

I got so much energy from the fans that I could have run for two games.

It's hard to explain the feeling, but it's the best way I can think of to do it.

Q.

Is it also more pressure?

A.

Exactly.

It's what's coming.

And it's something we have to deal with.

Pressure is something we have to deal with, in training and in games.

And I think that pressure is going to increase.

If you want, closer to that of men, because our parties are also close to that level.

At Barça we also receive a lot of pressure from our coaches.

They want us to be prepared for the big games and, even if we play in the league against a team in the lower part of the table, they give us very high challenges.

P.

And the pressure of the environment?

R.

There is something that I like a lot about the women's soccer fans and that is that the atmosphere is very supportive of their team, but it is never dangerous for the rival.

P.

Do you suffer the change from playing from extreme to lateral?

R.

Change, of course.

But I feel it more before the big matches.

Normally, I am a very quiet person.

I don't usually get nervous.

But when I go to play defense, I'm a little more nervous.

Q.

Why is it new?

R.

When I play as a striker or as a winger I know what I have to do.

I did it all my life.

But as a defense, it's something new.

I'm not one hundred percent sure.

I think about how I have to solve a certain situation or how I have to defend this other one.

There are more questions in my head.

Q.

Do you study more?

R.

Of course, I look at the rival players a lot.

P.

When you play forward, you don't?

R.

No, I prefer to be more spontaneous.

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