1 week ago
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Sam MarsdenJul 17, 2025, 10:59 AM ET
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- For truthful overmuch of Mariona Caldentey's vocation the Spain guardant has operated successful the shadows, but the risky determination to swap Barcelona for Arsenal past summertime has thrust her into the spotlight.
It would person been casual to enactment astatine Barça, wherever she won 25 trophies including 3 Champions Leagues, played 302 games and scored 114 goals during 10 years with the club. But the 29-year-old felt the impulse to effort thing new.
A twelvemonth on, she has helped Arsenal assertion a archetypal Champions League trophy since 2007 -- winning her 3rd successful a enactment successful the process by beating her erstwhile squad successful the last -- been named the Women's Super League's Player of the Year, and present she is portion of a Spain broadside warring for their archetypal European Championship successful Switzerland.
"It whitethorn person seemed similar a huffy [decision] astatine the time, but it was what I wanted, a antithetic challenge," she tells ESPN from Spain's basal successful Lausanne, wherever she is preparing for Friday's quarterfinal against the hosts successful Bern. "It was astir stepping retired of my comfortableness zone. Playing successful England, for a nine similar Arsenal, massively excited me. I thought I could turn and observe much astir myself, professionally and personally."
Caldentey did not permission Barça seeking much attention, but she's recovered it. She scored 1 extremity and provided 2 assists arsenic Spain won each 3 of their Group B games. If she plays a important relation successful immoderate imaginable occurrence astatine Euro 2025 past the Ballon d'Or talk, which has already started, volition inevitably ramp up.
"Just the information my sanction is mentioned successful the speech [for the Ballon d'Or] is already a monolithic root of pride," she says. "But determination are truly bully players around, truthful we volition spot what happens.
"What interests maine and what I privation close present is to triumph the Euros, a trophy [Spain] person ne'er won. That's the focus."
Being successful the statement unsocial is caller crushed for Caldentey, who was often successful the inheritance astatine Barça arsenic Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí scooped the idiosyncratic prizes. Teammates past and contiguous person characterised her arsenic discrete disconnected the transportation and idiosyncratic who is blessed to relation successful soundlessness connected it.
"She's possibly not idiosyncratic who is ever highlighted, but I ever accidental players similar her and Patri [Guijarro] enactment successful the shadows," Barça and Spain guardant Clàudia Pina tells ESPN. "They are indispensable to this squad and we would not beryllium the aforesaid broadside without them. She's specified an important player."
She is besides a much rounded subordinate since joining Arsenal wherever a deeper midfield role, successful opposition to playing wide for Spain, and a caller benignant of play has evolved her game.
"Apart from a caller presumption I had not played before, much defensive, it's a much nonstop style, much transitions, box-to-box," Caldentey says of her acquisition successful England. "You larn however to support successful deeper areas. That besides helps with bringing the shot forward. My relation has changed slightly, but I effort to play my game, which serves maine good and makes maine consciousness comfortable.
"Since the archetypal time I got determination I've felt valued. And, honestly, having your enactment recognised is amazing, but what's truly important is winning squad trophies. Obviously, if individually you're doing well, that's besides amended for the team."
The transportation to Arsenal has besides added to a renewed "excitement" erstwhile linking up with Spain. That present represents a accidental to drawback up with erstwhile teammates Putellas, Bonmatí and Guijarro, players she's played with for nine and state since she was a teenager.
That chemistry betwixt the players marks Spain retired arsenic the favourites successful Switzerland. There are 11 Barça players successful the squad, positive Caldentey, and erstwhile the operation play clicks, they efficaciously play similar a nine squad arsenic opposed to an planetary side.
"I deliberation having that basal of players that person grown astatine the aforesaid nine gives you an advantage," adds Caldentey, who is present 1 of Spain's captains and has scored 30 times successful 92 appearances for her country.
After racking up 14 goals successful their 3 games truthful far, Spain present crook their attraction to hosts Switzerland. La Roja person ne'er made a Euros semifinal antecedently and a raucous location assemblage awaits them astatine the Wankdorf Stadium, but it is the benignant of ambiance Caldentey relishes.
"I've seen a batch of videos of however the state is getting down Switzerland," she says. "It's peculiar to see. It's going to beryllium pugnacious with the full stadium supporting them. It's a immense positive for them, but we're besides going to play into that. It's ever a immense motivational origin playing successful an ambiance similar that and a noisy stadium."
Down the line, a imaginable last against England -- and Arsenal teammates Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Alessia Russo -- could await. It would correspond a repetition of the 2023 World Cup final, which Spain won, and portion Caldentey is not looking beyond the past eight, she is pursuing the Lionesses erstwhile she can.
"There's been the odd, abbreviated connection connected Instagram with Leah, Beth and [Alessia], but not much, we're each focused connected ourselves," she says. "England had that pugnacious archetypal game, but France are a dangerous, beardown side. England won the past Euros and made the World Cup final. That's not chance. They're a apical team."
Winning the Euros would implicit a singular five-year play for Caldentey: she's won 4 Champions Leagues with 2 antithetic clubs, a World Cup with Spain and been portion of a Barça broadside that shattered the attendance grounds successful women's shot erstwhile 91,648 radical crammed into Camp Nou to ticker them bushed Wolfsburg successful 2022.
It's nary wonderment the grin seldom drops disconnected Caldentey's look arsenic she speaks. It is the grin of the young miss from the land of Mallorca, enjoying everything that's coming her way. But it does fell 1 regret: that her dada has not been present to witnesser her biggest triumphs.
Miquel Àngel Caldentey was a well-known look successful the shot assemblage successful Mallorca arsenic a player, a manager and past a nine president. Unexpectedly astatine the property of 55, helium died of a bosom onslaught successful 2018. He was the crushed his girl started playing shot and is inactive a large root of inspiration arsenic she hunts down much silverware successful Switzerland.
"I started to play shot due to the fact that of my dad," she says. "My member played, too. My passionateness for the crippled comes from them; from my mum, too. My parents made a immense effort to instrumentality maine each implicit [playing football].
"My dada took maine to pitches with nary stands, atrocious playing surfaces... determination were a batch of hours spent successful the car. It's bittersweet that present we are playing successful packed stadiums and winning trophies, helium hasn't been capable to spot it. It's truly sad, but I americium truly fortunate to person the household I person and everything [I do] is ever for them."
