While all the spotlight of the football world is on the men's World Cup in North America, the USA also gave us a huge moment in women's football when Alexia Putellas was unveiled as a London City Lionesses player at a presentation in New York after 14 years at Barcelona.
Indeed, it's hard to under estimate the significance of this transfer considering Putellas' calibre: A two-time women's world player of the year and among the leading contenders for the award again this year, Putellas won four Champions Leagues with Barcelona, ten Spanish league **** les and, last season, every one of the four trophies she competed for.
A world champion with Spain, Putellas is regarded as one of the greatest European footballers in history and spent her entire career in Spanish football, also representing Levante and Espanyol. A standard-bearer for quality football, the forward saw her Barcelona contract come to an end and, after almost a decade and a half, chose to move on to London City Lionesses.
On its official website, the London City Lionesses makes clear its inspiration in Cynisca, the Spartan princess who became the first female Olympic champion in sporting history.
The daughter of the Spartan king Archidamus II and sister of King Agesilaus II, a famous warrior, Cynisca won laurels in 396 and 392 BC. At the time, women were forbidden from competing in the Olympic Games.