World footballer Alexia Putellas fails at EM 2022: Spain's shock

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Alexia Putellas during Spain's international match against England in February.

Photo: IMAGO/Elli Birch/IPS/Shutterstock / IMAGO/Shutterstock

With crutches on both arms, Alexia Putellas, currently perhaps the best footballer in the world, hobbled through a building.

On the video recording, her gaze is mostly directed to the ground, with no trace of a smile.

The Spaniard was injured in training and was on her way to a London hospital to "determine the extent of her injury," according to her association.

It didn't look good.

A few hours later the diagnosis was made: a cruciate ligament tear in the left knee, the EM will take place without Putellas.

In Spain, the failure was the main news in the sports newspapers.

"Marca" wrote: "A jug of cold water for the team."

Putella's failure is a shock for the Spanish national team, and it's also a loss for all fans and the entire European Championship.

The attacker was crowned world footballer in January after winning the treble of league, cup and Champions League with FC Barcelona.

That's how she became the figurehead of the upswing in women's football – that face is now missing.

Her club Barcelona has also made a steep rise in women's football in recent years.

This year more than 90,000 people watched the Champions League games against Real Madrid and VfL Wolfsburg – a record.

Only in the final was there a defeat against Olympique Lyon, a goal from Putellas was not enough.

Putellas was the heart of this team.

Despite losing the final, the attacker was the top scorer in the premier class with eleven goals.

Just last week she celebrated a special anniversary: ​​The 28-year-old was the first woman in her country to reach the 100-international mark.

Thanks in part to Putella's outstanding form, Spain were considered favorites for the title at the European Championships, which begin in England on Wednesday.

The team is only seventh in the world rankings and only reached the quarter-finals of the 2013 and 2017 European Championships.

The best placement was in 1997 with a semi-final entry.

But the Spaniards have been unbeaten since March 2020.

And qualifying for the European Championship was a show of power.

Seven wins, one draw, 48 goals, just one goal conceded.

Moldova was swept off the field 10-0, Azerbaijan even 13-0.

Spain will start the European Championship on Friday with a game against outsiders Finland, followed by a match against Germany on the second matchday.

Here, too, Spain was favoured.

The semi-finals of the premier class at the Camp Nou against Wolfsburg was a clear indication: seven German internationals were in the starting line-up for VfL, eight Spanish players played for Barcelona.

It was 0:4 after 38 minutes, 1:5 at the end.

Putellas has been instrumental in the rise of FC Barcelona, ​​for whom she has played since she was 11, and in the national team's winning streak.

She had not missed any of the past 33 international matches.

In her homeland she has heroic status.

For special services to Catalonia, she had received the Saint George Cross - only the third football professional after Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi.

At a time when the FC Barcelona men's team was struggling, she was the face of the women's team's success and brought hope and pride to the fan base.

She had already gone to Camp Nou with her late father, had played in club legend Xavi's football camp, as one of the few girls, today she can be seen on many posters.

Tactic understanding, short passing game, goal threat - Putellas is described as a "total footballer".

Her injury could now lead to a rift between the national team and FC Barcelona.

As the sports newspaper »AS« reports, the failure is the drop that »causes the camel to overflow«.

In Barcelona, ​​according to »AS«, one does not understand why Putellas has to play so much and has not been given any rest periods.

The Spanish media estimate that Putellas could be out for up to ten months, but at least half a year.

Coach Jorge Vilda has already been without Jenni Hermoso through injury, who scored 16 goals for FC Barcelona in the Spanish league last season.

Can the Spanish coach replace these two world-class women?

The morning after the diagnosis, there was initially no statement on the association's website.

The shock is deep.