Laia Codina Panedas (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈlajə kuˈðinə]; born 22 January 2000) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Women’s Super League club Arsenal and the Spain women's national team. She has represented Spain in multiple youth national teams.[1][2]

Laia Codina
Codina with Barcelona B in 2019
Personal information
Full name Laia Codina Panedas
Date of birth (2000-01-22) 22 January 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Campllong, Spain
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Arsenal
Number 5
Youth career
2014–2017 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2020 Barcelona B 15+ (2+)
2019–2023 Barcelona 29 (2)
2021–2022Milan (loan) 13 (0)
2023– Arsenal 12 (0)
International career
2018–2019 Spain U19 10 (0)
2021–2022 Spain U23 3 (1)
2022– Spain 11 (2)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Spain
FIFA Women's World Cup
Winner 2023 Australia–New Zealand
UEFA Women's Nations League
Winner 2024 France–Netherlands–Spain
UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
Winner 2018 Switzerland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:30, 20 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 04:37, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

Early life and education

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Born in Campllong, Province of Girona, Catalonia, Codina began playing football when she was four years old. As a child, she was a player in the lower categories of the Unió Deportiva Cassà, a team from the Girona municipality of Cassá de la Selva. Until the age of 14, she played on boys' teams.[3] In 2014, she signed for Barça.[2][4]

Codina studies journalism at the Universidad de Vic.[2][3][5]

Club career

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Barcelona

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In 2014, Codina signed for Barcelona to play in the lower categories. In 2017, at the age of 16, she made the leap to Barcelona B.[6] Codina was one of the leaders of the reserve team, becoming the captain the same season they were promoted to the Segunda División Pro.[2][5][7]

In the summer of 2019, the club announced that Codina would be in the first-team dynamics, although would be kept mainly as a reserve team player until the end of the season.[2][8] In June 2020, her contract was extended until 2022, in addition to her definitive jump to the first team the following season.[9][10][11]

On 13 October 2019, she made her league debut in a match against Sporting de Huelva. Just four days later, she made her UEFA Women's Champions League debut in a round of 16 match against Minsk.[12]

In her first season as a first-team player, Codina wore the number 3, which she had already worn in the subsidiary.[5][13][14] In November 2020, she underwent surgery after suffering an injury to the patellar cartilage in her right knee during a match of the Spanish U-20 team.[15][16][17] In March 2021, she began playing again after four months out from injury recovery.[18]

Loan to Milan

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On 29 July 2021, Codina signed a one year loan deal with Italian club A.C. Milan.[19]

Arsenal

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On 29 August 2023, Codina signed for English Women's Super League club Arsenal.[20]

International career

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Codina has been a regular on Spain's youth national teams, including the under-17, under-19, and under-20 squads.[21][22][23] In the summer of 2018, she was selected by Jorge Vilda to compete at the 2018 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship.[24] Codina was proclaimed a European Under-19 champion with the Spanish team after defeating the German team in the final.[7]

In July 2019, Codina was selected by Pedro López to represent Spain at the 2019 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship in Scotland.[2][25] The team was eliminated in the semifinals by France.[26]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 20 October 2024[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club League National Cup Other UWCL Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona 2019–20 Primera División 4 0 0 0 0[a] 0 1 0 5 0
2020–21 12 1 2[b] 0 0 0 0 0 14 1
2022–23 13 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 17 1
Total 29 2 3 0 1 0 3 0 36 2
Milan (loan) 2021–22 Serie A 13 0 3[c] 0 2[d] 0 1 0 19 0
Arsenal 2023–24 WSL 8 0 2[e] 0 6[f] 1 0 0 16 1
2024–25 4 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 10 1
Total 12 0 2 0 6 1 6 1 26 2
Career total 54 2 8 0 9 1 10 1 81 4
  1. ^ Appearances in Supercopa de España
  2. ^ Appearances in Copa de la Reina
  3. ^ Appearances in Coppa Italia
  4. ^ Appearances in Supercoppa Italiana
  5. ^ Appearances in Women's FA Cup
  6. ^ Appearances in FA Women's League Cup

International goals

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No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 11 October 2022 El Sadar Stadium, Pamplona, Spain   United States 1–0 2–0 Friendly
2. 5 August 2023 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand   Switzerland 41 5–1 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

Honours

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FC Barcelona

Arsenal

Spain U19
Spain

References

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  1. ^ "Laia Codina". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 25 April 2020.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d e f Martín, Bruno (7 July 2019). "Laia Codina i el seu estiu màgic". Diari de Girona (in Catalan). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Entrevista a Laia Codina: "No me pongo límites"". VAVEL. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Análisis de la central del futuro, Laia Codina". ADN La Masía (in Spanish). 11 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Andrés, Marc. "Laia Codina: "Líder ho seré sempre, sempre estaré donant instruccions"". Futfem (in Catalan). Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. ^ Peñalver, Silvia (20 June 2020). "Laia Codina, serenidad y polivalencia azulgrana". elscouting.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b Navarro, Alicia (18 July 2019). "Laia Codina, la perla que apuntala al Femení". VAVEL (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Laia Codina y Carla Armengol estarán en dinámica del primer equipo". Mundo Deportivo. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  9. ^ "El FC Barcelona renova Laia Codina fins al 2022". CCMA (in Catalan). 9 June 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  10. ^ Jiménez, Mayca (9 June 2020). "El Barça renueva a su joven promesa Laia Codina hasta 2022". AS.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  11. ^ "La canterana Laia Codina renueva con el Barça hasta 2022". Europa Press. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Rodillo del Barça para acariciar los cuartos de final de la Champions". La Vanguardia. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Laia Codina, Jana Fernández y Bruna Vilamala ya tienen dorsal con el primer equipo". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 5 September 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Laia Codina: "¿Por qué no vamos a repetir otra final de Champions?"". Sport (in Spanish). 26 July 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Una lesión obliga a Laia Codina a abandonar la concentración de la sub-20". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 9 March 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Barça: Laia Codina, al quirófano". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 13 November 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Laia Codina, operada con éxito". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 15 November 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  18. ^ "El Barça se autoimpone la prohibición de especular en Manchester". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 31 March 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Acord amb el Milan per Laia Codina". FC Barcelona (in Catalan). Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Laia Codina joins Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  21. ^ "El Barça lidera la convocatoria de la Sub-17 femenina". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 19 January 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Cuatro jugadoras del Barça convocadas para la selección Sub-20". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 25 February 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  23. ^ Jiménez, Mayca (12 March 2020). "El Barça brilla también por medio de sus internacionales". AS.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  24. ^ Menayo, David (13 June 2018). "Fútbol Femenino: España ya tiene a sus elegidas para revalidar título europeo Sub'19". Marca (periódico) (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  25. ^ "Cuatro jugadoras del FC Barcelona, listas para el Europeo Sub-19". VAVEL (in Spanish). 11 July 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  26. ^ García de Pedro, Javier (25 July 2019). "La sub 19 femenina se queda sin triplete europeo en la prórroga ante Francia". Marca (periódico) (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  27. ^ "Laia Codina – Soccerway profile". Soccerway.
  28. ^ "Chelsea 0-4 Barcelona: Barça surge to first Women's Champions League title". UEFA.com. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  29. ^ Wrack, Suzanne (3 June 2023). "Rolfö caps Barcelona comeback against Wolfsburg to win thrilling WCL final". The Guardian. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  30. ^ Smith, Emma (31 March 2024). "Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea (AET): Stina Blackstenius secures League Cup glory in extra time". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  31. ^ "Women's Nations League final: World Cup winners Spain beat France 2–0 in Seville". BBC Sport. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
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