The 2009–10 season was the 22nd for FC Barcelona Femení in official competition, and the 13th in the top flight of Spanish football.
Summary
In 2009, FC Barcelona sought to expand its brand into North America, to attract more female fans, and to promote the image of the women's team; one possibility explored to try to achieve all three was to collaborate with American football star Mia Hamm, who would have acted as a representative of Barcelona Femení.[1]
Towards the end of the previous season, rivals Espanyol had disciplined player Noemí Rubio, removing her from team training and barring her from playing, after she was photographed wearing a Barcelona scarf at the 2009 Copa del Rey final. The issue became polemic news when Espanyol publicly announced their sanctions towards Rubio; their own and other fans criticised Espanyol for punishing a player based on the club they support. Espanyol tried to deny this, saying that the punitive measures were taken because they deemed wearing another team's colours to be disrespectful;[2][3] Espanyol also claimed they had not wanted to draw attention to it. At an Espanyol press conference when the club announced Rubio would not continue with them, she publicly asked for forgiveness.[4] After this, Barcelona "decided to do everything" they could to sign Rubio,[5] which they did on 22 July 2009.[6] Rubio was considered one of the best players in the league. Top-scorer Marta Cubí and former Barcelona youth product Carol Férez also swapped Espanyol for Barcelona in the summer of 2009.[7]
At the start of the season, Barcelona took part in the Copa Catalunya, winning the title for the first time by defeating Espanyol on penalties in the final on 30 August 2009.[8]
The team participated in Group B of the group stage of the Superliga, for Catalan and Valencian teams. With a 1–0 win over UE L'Estartit – scored by Vicky Losada in the 90th minute after dominating the game – on the fourth matchday, Barcelona had taken three wins from three games played.[9] Having won the Copa Catalunya and started off their league campaign well, coach Xavi Llorens felt that the team had the potential to win a treble, though he also acknowledged the lack of professionalism made it hard to maintain a competitive team throughout a whole season.[10]
In the group, they finished second to progress to the top-level second phase and compete for the league title. In the second phase, they were in Group A and finished 5th. This placement also qualified them to participate in the Copa de la Reina, in which they placed third.[11]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
This was Barcelona's first time participating in the Torneig d'Històrics [ca]; the women's competition had been introduced the previous year but featured only one match, the final between Espanyol and L'Estartit.[15]
