Summer is coming and with it come the last big matches of the season. Cars, buses and planes start filling up in the same direction: Lisbon. The temperature rises as May 24 approaches. The date marked on the calendar.

A mix of emotions will begin to take hold of fans. The most confident will embark on the trip to Portugal knowing that their gamble of buying tickets months ago, confident their team would reach the final, has paid off. Others will still be feeling the stress of having to face the last-minute online purchase. The different emotions will transform as they arrive in the city.

Lisbon will be a place of football. The city that saw Cristiano Ronaldo grow up will witness the return of one of its prodigal daughters, Kika Nazareth, for whom Barça will fight every minute of the final and who will watch the match from the stands with an ankle injury.

The only English team to win the Women's Champions League so far will face the all-powerful Barça team that currently reigns supreme in Europe.

One last push. Probably the biggest of all, but this one comes with the power of thousands of fans who will support their team and women's football as they have done in recent seasons.

On the pitch, two of the teams with the most loyal following on the current scene. Among them, Barça, which mobilised thousands of Barça fans across the continent: Eindhoven, Turin, Bilbao…

Barça women's team is just that: the summer heat, the massive mobilisations, the last gasp to finally reach glory.

Barça is its fans—the 12th player—and the experience of winning in recent years. The comeback against Wolfsburg in the 2023 final, Patri Guijarro's genius, Aitana's magic, Alexia Putellas's leadership. The strength of a squad with young, yet mature, talent and experienced players who have come from playing in the mud.

Barça is more than a favourite's label: it's the process of going from nothing to everything.