Mariona Caldentey is decisive without making too much noise. The spotlight isn’t usually on her and she is often forgotten when she is nominated for major awards. It isn’t easy to be so important at the best club in the world for so many years and not be recognised for her football. Her numbers are from another league and her way of understanding football is special. It isn’t fair that she isn’t valued as she deserves.
Mariona’s last month with FC Barcelona is something to analyse and watch on loop. The Balearic player gave her Montjuic crowd a real exhibition in El Clásico. Regardless of her position, her influence on the game was abysmal and she was finally recognised at the end of the match with the MVP. She started as a false ‘9’ and his role was very important in creating chances while creating space. He went down to receive, he teamed up and finished plays.
The finishing touch to an evening to remember in front of 38.707 spectators was the goal that left the fans speechless. Without taking a run, with a sublime touch, looking at his goal with dissimulation, and nailing the ball into the goal defended by Misa Rodríguez. Unstoppable. A goal to watch on loop.
Last Wednesday in Frankfurt he threw his weight behind the team after a ‘weak’ first half, where the blaugranas were trailing at the break. She started out as a reference up front and moved to the wing, her usual position, in the second half. The Balearic player scored the comeback goal in the first quarter of an hour of the second half. And best of all, she kissed the shield in celebration to show her love for one of the clubs of her life.
The goal meant much more than a comeback. Mariona Caldentey reached 100 goals as an FC Barcelona player and achieved a record that no one else has. With her goal in Frankfurt, the striker became the only player in the world to score in all editions in a row since the 2016/2017 season. A very clear sign of the relevance that the Balearic player has had and the regularity she has had all these years in the Catalan team.
Mariona Caldentey is one of the key pieces in the schemes of Jona Giráldez. The Balearic player doesn’t fit in the rotations of the blue and white team. She plays as a striker, fourth midfielder or as a winger. He performs spectacularly in all positions. Her way of interpreting the game makes her team-mates shine, as she is a player who never stops assisting with her magical touches. She also works hard and presses like nobody else.
This season, at the age of 27, the player is back to her best. The last two seasons she had been absent for a large part of the season due to various injuries. Despite this, Mariona played in the World Cup this summer and was also a key player in Spain’s squad. In the championship she shone in a ‘silent’ way because, despite not making the headlines, everyone surrendered to her football.
Mariona didn’t need to win the MVP in the matches because she is a team player. Individual awards don’t merit what she does with the ball in every game. You only have to look at how Spain played with the Balearic player on the pitch and how she played when Jorge Vilda was rotating the team. The fact that Spain has a World Cup is largely thanks to her contribution.
Let’s talk about the renewal. It’s really crazy that Mariona Caldentey’s contract expires this summer. I don’t think FC Barcelona will let her go, but she needs to wake up. A Barça without the Balearic player is inconceivable. It is true that the Catalan club has many of its stars still to sign: Alexia, Mapi, Mariona, Paños, Torrejón, Gemma, Oshoala, Bronze and even Jona Giráldez.
Mariona Caldentey is Barça’s eternal smile. Versatility, intelligence, quality and magic. Mariona is art embodied in football. There aren’t enough adjectives to define her. She is unique and special. Everyone speaks well of her, but she is never nominated for anything and it is incomprehensible. More of the same with Hansen, but that’s another matter.
Will Mariona ever be nominated for anything?
Translated by Marcos Rodríguez.
Main image: @FCBFemeni.
At ELXIIDEAL we have a great opportunity to advertise your business via our website and social media network.
