No second higher captures the agony and ecstasy that sport supplies than the contrasting feelings of two groups that have just contested a main final.
As one group of gamers rushes wildly to have fun with its followers, the opposite slumps to the ground with their heads buried in their palms or the turf.
These feelings have been on full show in Switzerland on July 27, when England defeated Spain in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout to win the Women’s Euro 2025 title.
It was the second time in as a few years that the 2 groups had met in a main final after Spain’s triumph at the 2023 World Cup, including an additional layer of spice and intrigue to the encounter.
Understandably, the faces of England’s gamers have been the very last thing any of the Spanish staff would have wished to see after the final – however, weeks later, many had no selection.
That included midfielder Mariona Caldentey, who returned to preseason training with Arsenal and had to face a number of of her English vanquishers, together with captain Leah Williamson, Chloe Kelly, Beth Mead, Alessia Russo and Lotte Wubben-Moy.
But removed from being one thing of an disagreeable expertise, Caldentey stated her English teammates made it “easy” for her to return to training.
“They were so respectful of me,” she instructed NCS Sports. “After the final, we already spoke a bit and noticed one another … we have a lot of respect for one another.
“It hurt the first moment I saw them, and I was happy for them and I was sad for me, but it was fine because they helped me to make it easy.”
It was the second main final Caldentey had contested in as many months.
On May 24, her Gunners facet beat Barcelona Femení 1-0 in the Women’s Champions League final on the finish of her first season on the north London membership. Only 12 months earlier, Caldentey had left the Blaugrana after 10 years to be part of Arsenal, and most of the gamers she confronted that day have been her closest pals.
“It’s hard, but it’s part of our work,” she says. “When we’re on the pitch, we have no pals, however as quickly as the sport is finished, I have a lot respect for them, the Barça women, and employees and everybody.
“And then once I was in the opposite facet, even when I’ve solely been right here for one 12 months, I really feel so grateful for a way the English gamers helped me. We have gotten pals.
“Everyone wants to win, so then we are not friends. But once that’s done, I just want to be respectful and show my respect for all of them, even if they win or they lose.”
Despite ending the season with the low of that defeat to England, it was nonetheless a fruitful one for Caldentey; she was named the Women’s Super League (WSL) Player of the Season and was additionally voted PFA Women’s Player of the Year by her fellow professionals.
Her performances final season have now earned her a nomination for the Ballon d’Or Féminin, the best particular person prize in soccer.
She credit that recognition to her being “a bit more in the spotlight” at Arsenal than she was at Barça, the place “people think we only attack” and most of the particular person accolades go to Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas.
“Here, I had a defensive work as well to do – and I do it well,” Caldentey says. “So I think maybe people were a bit surprised with that!”
As is the case just about each season, Caldentey says that is a “big” one for Arsenal.
The staff will have a goal on its back because the Champions League holder, however the 29-year-old is aware of enhancements want to be made if the staff desires to compete on all fronts.
Each 12 months will get harder, too, because the funding and energy in depth in girls’s soccer solely proceed to develop.
“We know what we want, and it’s to fight for all the trophies we can,” Caldentey tells NCS Sports bullishly. “We want to be a bit extra constant. Last season was a curler coaster, however successful the Champions League was one thing superb for the membership.
“I hope that offers us extra confidence. I would like to win all of the trophies, in fact. That’s staff sport, and that’s our objective. And then when the issues go properly, then the opposite issues come for the person as properly.
“But I would love to win the WSL. That’s something that we really have in our head and then, of course, the cups. I’m quite new here, so I haven’t won any of those trophies, so that’s what’s in my head right now.”
Unfortunately for Caldentey and Arsenal, there may be one vital blue impediment in their method as they try to win a first WSL trophy in seven years: Chelsea.
The west London membership has received all six WSL titles since Arsenal final received it in 2019 and final 12 months completed a comfortable 12 factors away from the north Londoners, even after vital upheaval that included legendary manager Emma Hayes leaving the membership.
“Chelsea has been amazing these last years because it’s not that easy to be that consistent,” Caldentey says. “And I believe what we wish now’s to begin robust the season.
“We know last season that our start was not good, and then you are kind of behind the whole time. We want to try to be consistent. We want to have clean sheets. We want to be a solid team defensively because then we know we have talent and a lot of quality up front.”