Barcelona is looking for three titles for the women’s champions
Barcelona begin their defense of the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Wednesday as the rest of Europe struggles to figure out how the Catalans can fail to win the title for a third straight year.
Barcelona, led by Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas – a former Women’s Champions League winner – retained the crown by beating Lyon 2-0 in Bilbao in May.
A year after Wolfsburg’s defeat in Eindhoven, Barcelona beat the French giants, who have won a record eight Champions League titles..
However, Barcelona have now won three of the previous four editions of the competition and have reached five of the last six finals.
The question is, can anything stop us from raising the cup again in Lisbon?
However, changes have changed in Catalonia, with coach Jonathan Giraldez leaving to manage the Washington Spirit in the NWSL.
His replacement is Per Romeo, who has a domestic contract with Champions League closer Manchester City. “Romeo has the continuity we need to confirm the project,” sporting director Mark Vives told the club’s official website, Barca One.
Barcelona added Polish striker Eva Pajor, who was Germany’s top scorer for Wolfsburg last season.
England right-back Lucy Burns has left for Chelsea, while World Cup winner Mariona Caldentey has joined Arsenal.
The important thing is that Bonmati and Putellas agreed to a long contract.
Vives said: “It is important that they stay. Not only for football, because they are the two players who have won the Ballon d’Or, but because they have created the identity of Barcelona.”
Three English candidates
Barcelona’s biggest challenge will come from England, the only country with three clubs in the last 16 group stage.
Home champions Chelsea joined City and Arsenal, who advanced to the knockout stages.
Chelsea are the only English finalists in the last 17 years. They were snapped up by Barcelona in 2021.
They have won the English Women’s Super League for the past five years, but Emma Hayes left last season to take the job in America.
His successor is Sonia Bompastor, the former France international who led Lyon to the Champions League title in 2022. and Celtic in Group B.
The city, which who added a great Dutch striker Vivian Miedma, Barcelona can be a difficult test, but both sides will advance from the group St. Paulen of Austria and Hammarby of Sweden.
Eideval told reporters: “Does the league want English teams to be successful at European level? I hope the answer is yes, but things are different. It shows that is not one of their priorities.
Champions in Lyon France have named former Arsenal and Juventus Aussie coach Joe Montemuro as Bombasteur’s replacement.
They still have former Champions League winners, Ada Hegerberg and American star Lindsay Horan.
Lyon are grouped with Wolfsburg, another traditional powerhouse, as well as Italian giants Roma and Galatasaray.
This will be the final season of the competition in its current format, before UEFA introduced the 18-team league division from last year.
The format will be similar to the modern-day men’s Champions League, while UEFA will introduce a new women’s club competition from 2025..
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