“After the extraordinary success of last Sunday in the field of Sarrià, with a large audience, where women's football demonstrated its authentic possibilities for serious and sporty entertainment, we reached the grand finale. “That was how the press announced what would be the first Barcelona-Espanyol in history at the Camp Nou, on March 28, 1971A circumstance that will be repeated this Wednesday (6:00 pm), half a century later.
This commitment of Primera Iberdrola will have nothing to do with that of the true pioneers, who disputed the First Women's Soccer Foursquare Tournament – Great Pernod Trophy. To reach the final, that first derby in the Barça fiefdom, it was necessary to overcome a week before, on March 21, the semifinals in another mythical stadium: Sarrià. “It was packed to overflowing”, granted to AS one of the players of that Espanyol that had just been founded, Francisca 'Titi' Camúñez, who appears in the chronicles as Paquita. The parrots beat Sabadell (2-1), while Barcelona, then also known as Peña Femenina Barcelona, defeated Sant Andreu (1-0). And so their paths would cross at the Camp Nou.
At 10:30 am on Sunday, March 28, the doors of the enclosure were opened to access, for an amount of 25 pesetas that were entirely allocated to a charity campaign of the Barcelona radio station Radio España. An hour and a quarter later, the match was played for the third and fourth place, in which Sant Andreu beat Sabadell (2-1). And it was not necessary to wait in excess, since the matches were played only 60 minutes, to attend that first female Espanyol-Barcelona in history.
The female Espanyol, posing in Sarrià.
Francisca Camúñez Archive
Alone Cárdenas took three minutes to advance to Barça, and another 11 for Espanyol to equalize the marker with a bit of Encarnita, author in the resumption of the goal that gave the victory to the blue and white in the stadium of the eternal rival, before nothing less than 30,000 viewers, absolute record for a Catalan football match, above even the 20,615 who gathered at Espanyol-Atlético de Primera Iberdrola disputed at the RCDE Stadium on April 22, 2019, the highest attendance in an official match.
“So it was difficult for some people to understand that girls played soccer. Over the years it is normalizing, everyone is clear that a girl can play the same thing as a boy to soccer, tennis or whatever he wants, “Camúñez commented.
In what was at the height that female football that began was in their benches. Two myths occupied it: Antoni Ramallets on the Barça side and Julián Arcas led the Blue and Whites. And, when it comes to collecting the trophy, too Ricardo Zamora was present. Big words. Like those of this derby of Reyes, 50 years later.
BARCELONA – 1. Llansá; Trullas, Ros, Merche, Marisa, Blanca, Cárdenas, Lolita, Inmaculada, Gasulla, Estivill. They also played: Lluïssa, Curta.
ESPANYOL – 2. Carmen; Montse, Gutiérrez, Nuria, Planas, Isabel, Elisabeth, Celsa, Paquita, Pedrosa, Encarnita. They also played: Dolores, Rosario, Busquets and Oliver.
GOALS. 1-0 (3 ') Cardenas. 1-1 (14 ') Encarnita. 2-2 (55 ') Encarnita.
REFEREE: López Mateu, assisted by Nicolau and Blanco.
INCIDENTS. Camp Nou, 30,000 spectators.