Barcelona coach Jonatan Giráldez has set his sights on ending Chelsea counterpart Emma Hayes’ bid for a primary Champions League title when the pair meet within the event’s semifinals subsequent month..
Barça made the ultimate 4 for a sixth straight season after beating Brann 3-1 on Thursday to safe a 5-2 combination win and arrange a repeat of final 12 months’s semifinal towards English champions Chelsea.
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Hayes will depart Chelsea on the finish of the season to take over the United States ladies’s nationwide staff and is aiming to exit by successful the Champions League, the one trophy which has eluded her since she was appointed in 2012.
“Emma’s legacy is in what she has performed at Chelsea and the expansion [at the club] over greater than 10 years,” Giráldez advised a information convention.
“She has performed a powerful job on the membership. The following [manager] can have bar set very excessive as a result of she has performed superb issues.
“She is going to hope to exit with a Champions League [trophy], however we’re right here to attempt to guarantee that would not occur and to carry it dwelling, which is our goal.”
Hayes has received six Ladies’s Tremendous Leagues and 5 FA Cups as Chelsea coach, however the closest she got here to successful the competitors was a 2021 remaining defeat towards Barça.
The Catalan aspect additionally ended Chelsea’s hopes within the competitors final 12 months, successful 2-1 on combination within the semifinal earlier than happening to win the trophy for the second time in 4 years.
In distinction to final season, Chelsea can have dwelling benefit at Stamford Bridge within the return sport this time, with the primary leg as a consequence of be performed at Barça’s Olympic Stadium.
“Will probably be a really even tie,” Giráldez added. “Chelsea are an awesome aspect and the membership have invested within the ladies’s sport lately — and it exhibits.
“They’ve performed properly within the Champions League and are in nice kind, however so are we. I might have most popular to have the second leg at dwelling, however it’s not one thing we will management.”
Barça and Chelsea each stay on observe for a quadruple this season, though a summer season of change might be coming at each golf equipment, with Giráldez, like Hayes, additionally U.S.-bound.
He’ll take over Washington Spirit on the finish of the season, whereas a number of key Barça gamers are additionally out of contract when the time period ends, together with two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas.
There was a whole lot of hypothesis about her future in latest weeks, however she insisted her dream is to increase her keep at Barça after the Brann win.
“All I can say is that everybody is aware of what Barça means to me,” she advised reporters. “That is my dream membership. I do not assume there may be far more to say.
“I’m dedicated to the staff, the challenge and I do not assume it is necessary so as to add to that.”
