Pere Romeu: “It’s not Jonatan against Pere, they are two great teams and a very disputed final”

The Barça Femení coach, Pere Romeu, assured this Tuesday, in the preview of the final of the Women’s Champions League next Saturday in Oslo against OL Lyonnes, that the Blaugrana team and the French team are “the two best teams in Europe” this season, which is why he predicted a “very disputed” final between two clubs that, in his opinion, deserve to be fighting for the continental title.

“Everything in the past is pure statistics. For me we are the two best teams in Europe this season and the football has been fair, because the two best have reached the final. It will be a highly contested match and we will have to polish the details as much as possible,” he said during the Media Day organized by the Blaugrana club.

Furthermore, the culé coach wanted to reduce the focus on the reunion with Jonatan Giráldez, who was his first coach at Barça and now on the OL Lyonnes bench, and denied that the final was about a duel between coaches. “It is not one coach against another. This is not Jonatan against Pere, they are two great teams with their players. We are different teams and each one will go with their plan to try to win the final,” he said.

Romeu assured that Barça arrives at the continental event “in a good moment”, both on a footballing and emotional level, and highlighted the group’s evolution compared to previous European finals. “We are doing things well, with good play, and we reached this final stretch of the season quite well in terms of available players and offensive and defensive rhythm. We are an even more mature team and with more capacity to adapt to different contexts,” he explained.

Regarding OL’s approach, Romeu highlighted the physical power and danger of the French team in transitions. “They are a physical, aggressive and back-and-forth team. Clearly we must have few turnovers, avoid their counterattacks and take great care of the details to have a great final,” he noted.

Furthermore, he insisted that Barça will not change its football identity despite the magnitude of the event. “It is not a toss-up nor are we going to do new things for Saturday. Our game has taken us to the three titles we have already won and to this final. We have to polish details and have different scenarios prepared,” he stated.

The coach also confirmed that the intention of the coaching staff is to be able to count on the Norwegian Caroline Graham Hansen and the Spanish Irene Paredes for the final. “The intention is for both of them to arrive. Caro has already done integration sessions with the group and Irene is doing specialized work with the same intention,” he commented.

He also highlighted the depth of the squad and the collective performance shown throughout the season. “Whoever plays, we continue to play the same game and we have players from the bench who can give us different things. I am very happy with the squad and the team’s play,” he said.

On the other hand, Romeu asked for naturalness during the week to better manage the emotional aspect of a final of these characteristics. “If we spend all day thinking about the final, people get more nervous than necessary. We have young people with a lot of personality and veterans. We want the title and we will give everything to get it, but we have to do things well,” he said.

Finally, the ‘culer’ coach praised the support of the fans despite the difficulties of traveling to Oslo, at the Ulleval stadium, in what is the sixth consecutive ‘Champions’ final for the Blaugrana team. “It is a long trip and with less capacity, but I am convinced that they will support us and people will come to cheer on the team. The fans are a very important part of our strength,” he concluded.