Barcelona coach Pere Romeu cool as he prepares for the UEFA Women's Champions League final against Arsenal

In summer 2024, coach Jonatan Giráldez left Barcelona after a glorious three years in which they had won ten of the 12 possible trophies available, including back-to-back UEFA Women's Champions League titles.

The club did not have to look far to find his replacement, as Giráldez's assistant Pere Romeu stepped up. Born in the city, Romeu worked with the club's boys' teams for some time (including a spell with a young Gavi) but is now showing his combination of tactical nous and soft skills with the senior women. He spoke to UEFA ahead of the final against Arsenal.

On how Barcelona have changed since last season

There are always adjustments. There’s been a change in coaches, but also different players. Some players who were starting players last season, or who played in important matches, like Lucy Bronze, Mariona Caldentey, aren’t here. We now have players like Ewa Pajor. Just that change makes the team play differently.

In finishes, in crosses and headers, having Ewa Pajor in the box gives us more presence than we had before. So, the job of the coach is to make sure that everything that was working before still works, but also to enhance the strengths of your current players. That has been my main job this season.

On what keeps him interested as a coach

I love competing. I love seeing my team win. I’d love to win titles. But I’m a coach because I love the day-to-day. Because I love the process. Because I love convincing people that playing this way gets us closer to winning than playing that way.

I love convincing people that if we train in a certain way, we’ll be more prepared to play, because we’ll have everything ready, and having everything ready gives you confidence. That’s what I’m interested in.

On Clàudia Pina

The majority of shots she takes are on target or hit the post. Very few of her shots go far off target and it’s rare to find this in the game. On the other hand, Clàudia’s biggest strength is close to the goal, and the closer she is to the goal, the more composed she is. While other people [tend to] hurry their finish, Clàudia [often] takes an extra touch so that she's able to get the cleanest shot at goal possible, in the best and most comfortable way. Clàudia is great at interpreting spaces, and she’s always well positioned.

She is very chilled, a really nice person to have around. She’s great at training. Always smiling, but she’s also competitive. We trust her a lot, and it’s easy to be straight with her about things.

Clàudia Pina celebrates semi-final victory against ChelseaNurPhoto via Getty Images

On the club's La Masia academy

The most salient thing at youth level at Barcelona is that it’s got the best male and female footballers. That’s the main thing. This already makes you more alert because you’re dealing with better players than you’d worked with before. There are so many great players and things are done in a certain way. Footballers here are shaped with a specific mentality that helps them when they climb the age groups, and get closer and closer to professional football.

There aren’t many secrets: have the best players, train them well, help them improve, and make them into competitive players. [For La Masia graduates like Clàudia Pina, Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas,] when you have been in a place for a long time, you have a feeling of belonging that you don't have when you arrive. So, for someone who has been here for years, defending the Barça badge, the Barca shirt, it can be a greater feeling than for people who come from the outside.

On preparing for the final

When I enjoy it the most is when I sit in my office and watch Arsenal, watch a lot of Arsenal games, see what Arsenal does, see who their most important players are for their team, how we are going to prepare for it, how we are going to train, what we propose, and when we do all this is when I feel more calm, more confident and more convinced. From this moment on, when the game is getting closer, that's when you start to get nervous.

It makes me feel especially excited that my family is coming, that my siblings are coming, that my best friends are coming to see the final there live. But I'm a down to earth guy, I'm a pretty calm guy, and I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to love it with these people, but it doesn't put any extra pressure on me; it doesn't make me feel any more nervous. It feels natural to me.