Coach Sonia Bompastor on Lyon's latest Women's Champions League final

Sonia Bompastor won the UEFA Women's Champions League twice as a player and on Saturday she could match that tally as a head coach.

Bompastor captained Lyon to victory against Turbine Potsdam in 2011 and Frankfurt in 2012, before retiring after losing the 2013 decider to Wolfsburg. After working her way up the coaching ranks at Lyon, Bompastor took charge of the first team in April 2021, and just over a year later led them to victory against Barcelona in Turin, the club's eighth European title. With that, Bompastor became the first woman to win as both a player and head coach.

Now the teams are matched again for Lyon's 11th final, capping a European season in which Bompastor's side have remained unbeaten so far, most notably beating Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 in the home first leg of their semi-final despite trailing 2-0 with ten minutes to go.

As she aims to become the seventh person – but first woman – to lift the trophy twice as coach, Bompastor speaks to UEFA.com about OL's European pedigree and the meeting with Barça.

On Lyon's experience of big Champions League matches

Experience in a squad at this stage of the competition is essential. It's useful in many respects, but most importantly on a mental level, in dealing with emotions. There's no doubt that Champions League games are mentally very demanding. Managing those feelings obviously involves coping with pressure related to the result and performance.

That's why, when you've got several European campaigns and finals under your belt, it obviously helps you approach these fixtures with confidence and a level head. You also know what challenges you're going to face, because a final is never an easy game. You're obviously coming up against a formidable opponent. As a result, you need to dig deep to be able to get this title. It's the best competition you can play as a club player.

On Lyon's unbeaten run to the final

It's true we're having a good run this season because, so far, we're undefeated in this competition. In the group stage, I remember the very first matchday against Slavia Praha, where we really wanted to make a statement, and I think that both in terms of the way we played and the result, it was a very good match. Even at that stage, we sent a pretty strong message to our rivals with a 9-0 away win.

It also showed just how motivated this club, the staff and these players were to have as good a European campaign as possible. We finished top in the group stage, and we then qualified for the quarter-finals, against Benfica – a club that stands out to me personally (Bompastor has Portuguese, Benfica-supporting family) but above all a club and a country that has put in a lot of hard work and made big strides. We played in a really lovely stadium; the atmosphere was truly exceptional. Those are the moments you really seek out as a competitor.

As for my standout moment so far, that has to be making it through to the final, having to play away at a bouncing Parc des Princes and coming up against a great Paris side. So, those are still really good memories.

On the semi-final comeback against Paris Saint-Germain

It's true that, especially in the first leg against Paris, I think it was the first time at club level that we'd been in a situation like that, where we had been able to turn everything around in six minutes and score three goals. I don't think it had happened before in the history of the Champions League or the history of the club, so we felt a moment of true harmony between the players and staff, but also the fans, and it was brilliant.

On the final

It's a final, so we know how it is: it's 50-50. It will be a tough game. We're coming up against a Barcelona team that is a really tidy European side, and they are the holders, so we know, above all, to respect all of our opponents.

We know that all our rivals want to bring Olympique Lyonnais down a peg or two, so they're always very motivated. Now, we are very focused on ourselves. I've said since the start of the season that we have a lot of quality in the group, and a squad that is very talented and very strong.

While we have a lot of respect for this Barcelona team, we know that with our experience and our qualities, we are capable of winning that match. It will be tough, of course, but we are calm, we are confident and, above all, we are putting in the hard yards.

From the staff's perspective, the idea is to prepare for this match as well as possible, as we have done up to now, so that the game plan is very clear in the hearts and minds of the players and they can carry it out as calmly and confidently as possible.

On the 2022 final win against Barcelona

There are always things you have done in the past in terms of performance that can serve you well. There are certain ingredients that are essential to a final. I was talking a lot before about the mental side – we know that the mental side is a determining factor in a final.

Now, this will be an altogether different context: two years have passed, so both in terms of the make-up of the Barcelona squad and our own, there have been changes and progress. So, there is more history for us to write and this match will be completely different to the one two years ago.