Euro 2025 is less than a month away and world champions Spain will start as favourites to add the European title to the World Cup they won two summers ago.
Montserrat Tome’s team have warmed up for the tournament by winning their past four matches, including a 2-1 win over England last time out, with the manager confident enough to omit record goalscorer Jenni Hermoso out of her squad for the tournament in Switzerland.
Tome will, however, be able to call on Alexia Putellas, who has enjoyed a much more conventional build-up for next month’s competition.
Alexia Putellas on her Euro 2025 build-up
A ruptured ACL ruled the two-time Ballon d’Or winner out of Euro 2022 and she only made her return to action in April 2023, shortly before Spain’s victorious World Cup run that summer. The 31-year-old, therefore, has high hopes for the coming weeks.
“I always see international tournaments as being like the Champions League: it takes more to win it,” Putellas tells FourFourTwo. “Everybody is on point, at the maximum and focusing on the details. It’ll be a very competitive tournament.
“We’ll prepare well and then go round by round, group stage first. I hope it’ll be another big summer for us – and I want to show the best version of myself, too.”
Putellas - who is ranked No.14 in FourFourTwo's list of best current women's players - also reflected on how her disrupted preparation for the past two major tournaments is making her even more motivated this time out.
“Oh, hugely so – absolutely. The World Cup was… dramatic. It became a race against time for me to get fit for the finals after suffering such a serious knee injury. I did all of the rehab to make it back and help the team as much as I could. My feeling now is similar. I feel good, in form and super-focused with the mentality that I want to succeed. I want to be there, take advantage of every moment and lift the trophy.”
Putellas’ fitness levels meant she was a bit-part player at the World Cup, making a 90th-minute substitute appearance in the 1-0 win over England in the final, with the prospect of making the squad something that kept her going during her recovery.
“I was clear: I wanted to be back for the World Cup at my best level, or maybe even better,” she continues. “While recuperating, I wasn’t thinking about anything else other than that. I had no doubts. The road was long and there are days when you don’t trust yourself, or things look very far away, but I’ve learned from those moments. It’s all about putting another droplet in the glass every day, so the moment when you’re back gets that tiny bit closer – to be prepared, as I am right now, to have another crack at a major tournament.
“ I love my job. I love being able to play this sport. For me, there’s something addictive in winning. I’ve been lucky to win quite a lot in my career – not as much as I keep wishing, but I have to be realistic, and I’ve won plenty of titles. That fills my tank with petrol. Having the mentality to go again for another game, another trophy, another goal, is something I’m constantly in touch with. The normal thing as years go by is to lose a bit of that love, that drive, but for me it’s the opposite. My strong mentality to win drives my passion for football.”
