Fairytale endings rarely exist but sometimes in football, the script really does write itself. Jonatan Giráldez signed off on his three-year managerial career in Spain as his all-conquering Barcelona team lifted back-to-back Champions League trophies. It was the 10th piece of silverware that “Las Reinas” of both Spain and Europe have won under his time in charge, a side surely worthy of the “dynasty” accolade.
Barcelona’s supremacy did not start with Giráldez but his impact on this side’s journey is undeniable. The 32-year-old was Lluís Cortés’s assistant when they secured their first treble and inaugural Women’s Champions League title and he has continued that culture of winning with dominance both at home and on the European stage.
Inside a cauldron of noise at Bilbao’s Estádio de San Mamés, Giráldez’s team found a way to pull apart their opposition, an unabated tendency to go for the jugular when it matters most. Lyon, eight-time champions, have been there and done it all themselves. In the heat of the Basque country, they went toe-to-toe in an evenly matched encounter that perhaps the holders just edged. They eventually fell away, like so many before them victims of Barça’s relentless ability to win. It was the first time Barcelona had ever beaten their French rivals, one final obstacle for Giráldez to overcome before heading off to pastures new.
It was perhaps symbolic that it was two players most associated with the victors’ recent success who brought joy to another gruelling European campaign. In Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas, they have two players with experience; two players who have undeniably done it – and won it – all.
The opening goal from the former illustrated exactly why she has so many personal accolades to add to those won with her teams – she is a midfielder with the ability to turn on the magic at any given moment to surge into the box and break down even the sternest of defences.
Putellas is the bona fide leader of this team, although she has at times had to play a relatively lesser role on the pitch in the last year as she continues to return to full strength after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament rupture on the eve of Euro 2022. She scored within three minutes of coming on, hammering home a metaphorical nail through Lyon’s hopes of a late comeback before wheeling out the infamous Brandi Chastain celebration, finished off with her trademark bow in front of her legion of adoring fans. Having signed a new deal four days earlier, she reminded the club and the next manager that her star is far from dimming just yet.
They are, however, just two of any number of stars that shine throughout this side. From the highly underrated Caroline Graham Hansen marauding past Selma Bacha down the right to the experience of Lucy Bronze and Irene Paredes in the backline, Barcelona more than matched the cunning of Sonia Bompastor’s champions on this occasion. Giráldez’s team have developed a desired combination of technical prowess and working out how to get the result over the line. For they have been challenged this year, perhaps more than they ever have been, and there have been occasional glimmers of fallibility – the draw with Benfica back in January; the two goals conceded to SK Brann; the loss at home to Chelsea, their first on home soil in over five years. They have always found a way, however, to overcome those obstacles, only ever needing one moment to make the opposition pay.
The honours say it all. Barcelona’s dominance of world football is unequivocal over the last two years and one would expect that they were held with the same prestige at home as they are elsewhere. There are a few murmurings of discontent, however, at a league and a federation who have done little to give them the respect they deserve. Just last week, the players themselves were made to hand out their winners’ medals upon securing the Copa de la Reina instead of there being a proper presentation and celebration. Bonmatí herself has spoken about the lack of progress domestically despite the Spanish team lifting the World Cup just 12 months ago.
For now, the majority will celebrate and acknowledge their success. Change is coming as Giráldez heads for pastures new as the new manager of Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League. The core of this winning team will be expected to remain, a frightening prospect for the rest of Europe as they build into the next campaign.
