Caroline Graham Hansen: Making a Mark Beyond Awards, Focused on Barça’s Triumphs

“I don’t care; all I want is to keep winning titles with Barça.” This is Caroline Graham Hansen’s response to every question about her absence from nominations for major football awards. However, the real statement has been made on the field.

The Norwegian star is having the best season of her career. Known for her exceptional assists, this year she has taken it a step further, and her numbers, at present, are nothing short of extraordinary, leaving no room for debate. She is among the best in the world, if not the best right now.

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So much so that she has surpassed her best goal-scoring records in a single season halfway through. In both the 2020/21 and 2022/23 seasons, she scored a total of thirteen goals each, while this season, she has already scored nineteen.

Nineteen goals and seventeen assists across all competitions in just nineteen played matches. This translates to an impact on goals (goals + assists) of 36 in just nineteen games (an average of 1.89). To put it in context, Graham’s best season in terms of total numbers was 2020/21—the treble-winning year. Her impact on goals was 38 (13 goals and 25 assists) in 34 matches (an average of 1.11, lower than this season).

Caroline Graham Hansen’s numbers in the 2023/24 season (as of February 2) / DATA: MARIA TIKAS / INFOGRAPHIC: MARC CREUS This season, the Norwegian has been directly involved in a goal (either scoring or assisting, or both) in every game played except two—against Sporting de Huelva in the league (October 1) and against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League (November 22), both away.

In the last ten matches alone, she has scored thirteen goals and provided nine assists, including a hat-trick plus an assist in the Supercopa final against Levante and braces in the last two matches against Betis (League) and Benfica (Champions League).

Confidence and Hard Work In an interview with SPORT earlier this year, Graham explained her excellent form: “I knew I could continue the good form I had when I came back last year from the injury. I’m in a good moment; everything is going well, and I can enjoy it. But if you’re not in a team that works so well, it’s hard to get such numbers. I owe everything to the team because I always get good passes, opportunities to score… And I enjoy it a lot.”

Arriving at Barça in 2019, she noted in the mentioned interview that she is now a “much more complete” player, largely thanks to the “incredible coaching staff we have.” She emphasized the different working approach at Barça, where they are not afraid to tell you what you’re doing wrong or what you can change to improve. “I take criticism well, and this has helped me a lot. And the best part is that I enjoy the process.”

UEFA, FIFA, France Football… Take note of her name because Caroline Graham Hansen is poised to defy all expectations this season.