The disappointment is still great two days after the Champions League final.
Fridolina Rulfo was also not allowed to stay on the pitch when Barcelona unsuccessfully tried to catch up with Lyon.
– Obviously you want to play the full game. I felt refreshed and felt like I had momentum,” Rulfo says.
After a season full of success, everything will culminate in victory even in the Champions League final.
But Barcelona lost 3-1 to Lyon and the final ended in disappointment Fridolina Rulfo and her team.
– decent. The disappointment is still in one. But that’s it…,” Fridolina Rulfo tells Sportbladet two days later.
She describes the days following the final as “incredibly heavy”.
– It’s been a long, good season and you want to end in a good way. Then we lose forever and don’t get to the level we want. Then it will be a huge disappointment.
Fridolina Rulfo after the final
Fridolina Rulfo has a hard time explaining why Barcelona haven’t reached their usual level – the level that has led to 30 consecutive league victories.
The more ball they won, the more aggressive they were, she says and then continues:
My feeling is that we underperformed, and we didn’t reach the level we usually are. Then we face a much better football team than we faced earlier in the season, so I don’t know if they are better than us or if we have a bad team. But we demand more of ourselves.
What do you think of your own efforts?
After this match, you always try to go yourself. I’m thinking what I could have done better to help the team. Defensively, I still feel good and am happy with my performance there, but I wish I could be more offensive.
“Completely incorrect replacement”
On SVT’s telecast of the final, expert Marcus Johansson criticized Barcelona coach Jonathan Giraldes when he replaced Fridolina Rulfo with the left quarterback.
– I think this is a completely wrong change of situation. Johansson said she is behind the defenders and this is the area Barca need to attack.
Rulfo herself says she could have kept playing.
– Obviously you want to play the full game. I felt fresh and felt like I had momentum and wanted to keep playing. But it is always up to the coach, he makes the decision. She says you obviously wanted to play the whole match but there was nothing to do about it.
One title remains to be hunted for Barcelona. The team plays the semi-final away to Real Madrid in the Spanish Cup on Wednesday evening.
We want to avenge what we did not succeed in this weekend. Now we go into those two matches and finish the match in the best way possible, says Rulfo.