The atmosphere at the Zubieta facilities is the same as always on a sunny spring day. The usual thing is the tranquility and patience with which we work in the Real Sociedad footballer factory. The intensity comes in daily training, but in the offices, the daily task is only altered by the proximity of the Cup final in La Romareda, although those responsible have things clear. “Five years ago we didn’t even know where we were; Now yes,” says Garbiñe Etxeberria, the club’s sports director. txuriurdin, which will live its second final. They won the first against Atlético de Madrid in Granada. “We experienced that almost without thinking about it, now we are more aware of what a final is, of how to prepare for it,” he comments.
The woman who lifted the Queen’s Cup, Sandra Ramajo, also remembers that final: “It was a very special week for us. Everything was new, the emotions of playing in a final, jumping onto the field and seeing the stands full, knowing that we had a super team in front of us,” says the former player, who now trains in the lower categories of Real, and who harbors hope to be able to stand up to Barcelona. “Then Atlético was better on paper, just like Barça is now, but in a final anything can happen,” she says. “La Real has prepared the match well and it could be a competitive final.”
Garbiñe Etxeberria also does not think about the defeat against a team like Barça that in the two League games has scored ten goals against Real. She acknowledges that, “we played against a very big team. Losing is what everyone expects, but we can’t think about that, but about going out to compete and knowing that things can happen in a game.” In her opinion, “we have to prepare well for the game and be what we are, not think about the rival,” because, “this team has taken us to the final by playing well and eliminating great rivals. The Zaragoza game is the time to bring out the best we have.”
Ramajo is optimistic, although he recognizes the extraordinary quality of Barcelona, “which has few weaknesses, although some can be found. We know that we will have to suffer at many moments, but also that a game has different phases. Surely Natalia Arroyo” – Real coach – “is preparing an uncomfortable match for them.”
Around 4,000 Real fans are expected to attend La Romareda, the venue for the final. It is a relatively comfortable trip from San Sebastián, and the head of women’s football for the San Sebastián team appeals to those fans: “It is a great stage, close to home, and there will be a great atmosphere. It is a historic date and we are excited to be able to experience a great final.” Sandra Ramajo also believes that the followers who come will have a lot to say. “I imagine Nerea [Eizagirre] lifting the Cup, why not. The team and the fans have to believe. From there, by doing things well and knowing that there will be different phases in the game, it can be achieved.”
For Garbiñe Etxeberria, Real will have its options: “We are good with the ball,” she says. “When we have opportunities, we have to go with faith, try to scare them a little. The players believe and that is important. Barça has suffered against us at times.” And the recipe? “Calm down and pay little attention to your rival.” And although a comparison cannot be made between the 2019 final with the one they are going to play now, the sports director remembers that, “we had just lost in the League against Atlético in Zubieta (1-3). The team had great players, but we went to Granada without complexes and everything turned out well. Let’s see if this time we get it right and the team is at its level.”
Only three players remain from that Real Sociedad, Nerea Eizagirre, then 19 years old and now captain, Ane Etxezarreta and Elena Lete, who was in the squad, but was not called up. “They will have memories from then and will know how to handle it better,” says Sandra Ramajo. “You already know what it is to win a Cup, how difficult it is to get there and how nice it is to play in it. That spirit of Granada exists and they will bring it out in the locker room. In addition, there are several players who have experience in important matches and are more prepared.”
What the former player of the San Sebastian team is clear about is that that final that Real won against the odds was a before and after in the club’s women’s football. She “engaged more people and made many young girls curious about starting to play soccer. There are more and more licenses and the players already have references since they were little.” And she says: “Since that final, women’s football has grown, Real has grown and the structure here in Zubieta has improved.”
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