It was 19:57 local time at San Mamés stadium, Bilbao, when Alexia Putellas whipped the ball past the goalkeeper and wheeled away in celebration, shirt whirling above her head.
It was a cathartic moment for the two-time Ballon d’Or Feminin winner after a tough couple of years.
An ACL injury suffered on the eve of Euro 2022 kept her out for 11 months, and since returning she has struggled to hit her pre-injury heights.
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Days after ending speculation by signing a new deal with the club of her heart, Putellas found herself on the bench in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final.
All that was forgotten when the 30-year-old was introduced in injury-time and scored Barcelona’s second goal in a 2-0 victory against Lyon.
Putellas’ strike secured Barça a third European crown in the last four seasons, but it also created a moment that sums up what it means to be a football fan.
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As Putellas bowed in front of the 50,827-strong crowd - a record for a UWCL final and a remarkably partisan one at that - teammate Lucy Bronze picked up her shirt and held it up for all to see.
The name on the back was sung by thousands of supporters in the fanzone hours before kick-off, a name tattooed on bodies young and old, a name bestowed upon pets and printed on replica shirts.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, an outspoken advocate of women’s rights and a defender of democratic freedoms, Putellas - like many other female stars - has done plenty to tackle stereotypes both on the pitch and on the terraces.
Alexia Putellas' celebration will go down as an iconic moment. [Getty]
Inspired by players like Putellas, Heineken launched the Cheers To The Real Hardcore Fans campaign to highlight the diversity of football fandom and to boost the cause to make football an inclusive and prejudice-free space for all.
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“There’s a minority of football fans that can spoil the game for everyone else, giving ‘hardcore’ fans a bad name,” says Nabil Nasser, Global Head of Heineken Brand.
“But those problematic few don’t represent the majority. Our new campaign is a witty twist on the ‘hardcore fan’ stereotype, showing instead what hardcore fandom really looks like, celebrating the diverse group of people who truly live and breathe the sport in a positive, and sometimes quirky way.”
Champions League Final weekend in Bilbao showed perfectly that there are a million and one ways to support your team. SPORTbible spoke to Barcelona fans in Bilbao who had made the five-hour drive from Catalonia, some of whom - 14,000 according to reports - didn’t even have tickets for the match.
Many would have still attended had Barça not been playing. Others flew in from around the world, but nearly all were wearing shirts bearing the names of their heroes; Alexia, Aitana, Bronze and Maria Leon to name a few.
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The scenes were totally at odds with those who don't think fans of women's football can be hardcore.
“There was a lot of talk about the two Euros finals [Euro 2020 and Women’s Euro 2022] at Wembley and how different they were,” former England star and Heineken ambassador Jill Scott MBE told SPORTbible.
“The women’s final was so special, there was a lot of positivity. Yes there were fans from both teams, but there was a lot of friendly banter, but there was no fighting or anything like that.
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“We’ve got to keep that positivity going, because we want everybody to look at what’s going on at the weekend and think ‘oh there’s a women’s football match on’ and feel like they can go and be safe. To think that some people don’t feel safe in those spaces is very sad for sport as a whole, not just football.
“Working with Heineken on the Real Hardcore Fans campaign, I think you can see the difference being made. There are a lot of positive stories out there and that’s what Heineken is trying to highlight.
“Whether it’s someone getting flights to go and get an autograph, travelling the world to watch their favourite team or naming their dog after their favourite player, that can be a hardcore fan. So I think we need to keep trying to change the narrative, hopefully it’ll be infectious and everyone will follow suit.”
More than 40,000 Barcelona fans flocked to Bilbao for the match. [Getty]
As the owner of a coffee shop in Manchester, Scott is used to all kinds of football fans popping in for a coffee and a chat.
“I’ve seen people come in wearing a football shirt and it’s got one team on one side and one on the other, and I’m thinking ‘what’s that all about?’,” Scott says.
“It’s because their favourite players will be players like Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo, so they’ll merge the shirts.
“A lot of people get tattoos. One girl had Lucy Bronze’s autograph tattooed on her arm, and then she asked me to sign a piece of paper so she could get that tattooed too!”
The next day, this writer saw one fan with Chloe Kelly’s iconic Euro 2022 final celebration tattooed on her arm.
“It means a lot when fans say ‘I wouldn’t have gotten back into football if I hadn’t watched you playing’, as it means you’ve been visible and helped someone make that journey into football, which isn’t always easy.”
Saturday’s final really was a celebration that was about much more than football. Fans of all ages, genders, nationalities, sexual orientations and backgrounds united, feeding off the vibes of a huge occasion and celebrating a diverse and inclusive space that has taken years to build.
That much was evident long into the night, as thousands of Barca fans took over the narrow streets of Bilbao’s old town; drinks flowed, songs belted out, stories exchanged and joyous moments shared.
Come 4am on Sunday morning, plenty of them had no intention of calling it a night. Hundreds of cars headed east the next day, Barça flags fluttering from car windows all along the motorway.
Football violence is like a garden weed that is hard to root out, but Heineken is shining light on the sense of community and inclusion that is ever-blossoming in the game. Long may that work continue. Cheers, to the real hardcore fans.
Featured Image Credit: Getty and Heineken
Topics:Football, Womens Football, Barcelona, Champions League
Alex Brotherton
Alex Brotherton is a journalist at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He can often be found watching dreadful non-league football.
@alex_brotherton
