Barcelona coach Giráldez aiming for Women's Champions League final flourish

Jonatan Giráldez will be leaving Barcelona after three seasons this summer and the Spanish giants' coach is eager to sign off with his second UEFA Women's Champions League triumph and tenth trophy with the club.

Barça will tackle Lyon in the Bilbao final on Saturday and the French outfit are one of few teams to have got the better of Giráldez's side, having beaten them 3-1 in the 2022 Champions League decider.

As they prepare to meet again, the Washington Spirit-bound coach analyses Barcelona's season so far, including their 2-0 semi-final win at Chelsea to overturn a 1-0 home defeat, and the rematch with Lyon and their coach Sonia Bompastor.

On Barcelona's Champions League campaign

I believe that this year, with a bit more experience in terms of planning and what a whole season means, I've been a little bit more patient in recognising that form varies. Important moments come in cycles, such as after Christmas and when you start playing the Champions League quarter-finals.

The beginning of our season wasn't perfect because we still had things that needed to settle, and that takes time. I had a patience which I probably didn't have in my first season as a coach, when you want to do everything well from the beginning, winning each game by a large margin – which we did, but we struggled to be in our best form at the end of the season.

Best moment of the season

Without a doubt, the return leg at Stamford Bridge, because of the difficulties we faced in the first leg, because we needed to win to have a chance of reaching the final, because of the mental strength the team showed, the calmness with which the team trained that week and, above all, because of how we played. I think we had a brilliant game. At the toughest moment of the season, the team performed and competed, and we deserved to win and reach the final.

Key to the comeback at Chelsea

There are various things. In terms of football, we did things differently in attack. The role of our wingers and our full-backs changed. We were a bit more aggressive against their back line, and we put a bit more pressure on them given the starting XI we went with that day. That allowed us to play a little bit more through the middle, allowing our midfielders to participate more, with more clarity. Defensively, we also performed differently. Our pressure worked very well, because they were uncomfortable for the whole game.

And I would also mention the mental side – our mental strength regarding how to train, how to focus on the day-to-day, to avoid having people playing the game at Stamford Bridge five times, just playing it once, preparing them mentally. The experience we have from previous years, and also the maturity that the team's showing, how the team has grown in the last few seasons, those have also been key factors.

On facing Lyon again after the 2022 defeat in Turin

First of all, we have more available resources in the squad, more players available. In that final, we were very limited by the number of players available. I remember that Asisat [Oshoala] wasn't 100%, and that [Lieke] Martens wasn't 100%, Mariona [Caldentey] was also coming back from a long-term injury. And the types of players we had available for that final were not the ones who could give us what we expected from such a game and give us victory.

This year, we have more resources, more players available. We have more options to choose which player profile would be better to play this game. And we have the confidence of being a more experienced team. We're a team that has been growing a lot, not only in domestic competitions, international competitions, but also with the national team, of course; the players have more experience. It will be an evenly contested final and the fans there will enjoy it because it's going to be a great game.

On Lyon and their coach Sonia Bompastor

For me, Barça and Lyon are the two best teams in Europe, without any doubt, because of the individual quality both teams have. If you analyse player by player, there's certainly little to choose from. All positions are covered with top-level players, players who've been there and done it, experienced players, and their bench is full of players who can add something extra to the team.

The same goes for us. We have internationally recognised players who are very experienced, players with a very high level, capable of playing this type of knockout game.

Sonia Bompastor, of course, has the experience of having competed in the Champions League, of having already played against Barça. She's a manager who's managed to reach another Champions League final after a tough semi-final, particularly in the first leg when they were 2-0 down against Paris Saint-Germain.

It will be a fun final, with two quality starting line-ups, with great subs on the bench who can help a lot and, of course, from the sidelines, both Sonia and I will have our tools to try and have an entertaining final, which, hopefully, will favour Barça.