It is easy to think progress in women's football is inevitable.
We all get sucked into it at times, attendances grow, TV coverage improves, England players have a bigger public profile than their predecessors. It is easy to feel things are moving in the right direction at home and that the game is on the right trajectory. But as everyone in the game knows - Europe is the real acid test.
For the first time in history Saturday's Women's Champions League final between Barcelona and Wolfsburg, eventually won 3-2 by the Spaniards after a thrilling fightback, was a sell-out. But it wasn't just the 33,147 inside the PSV Stadium for two hours on warm summer's afternoon that made this special. Over four hours before kick-off you couldn't walk more than a minute from Eindhoven Central station to find a Catalan takeover.
