The Olímpico in Rome is preparing to experience a magical night. FC Barcelona is measured tonight (Dazn, 9:00 p.m.) the only newcomer that has slipped into the top eight, Roma. A wolf in sheep’s clothing that Jonatan Giráldez’s team should not trust. Despite his little experience in Europe, this year he is completing an excellent season in which he has only lost one of his last ten Champions League games. A team that has been able to eliminate much more experienced rivals such as Sparta Prague, St. Pölten or Slavia Prague, and to complicate things for an entire Wolfsburg in the group stage (1-1). “Any team that is in the quarterfinals is on its own merits,” warned Jonatan Giráldez in the preview. The Barça coach highlighted the importance of dominating the game “both in football and mentally” and of “detecting from the beginning the type of pressure exerted by the rival” in order to neutralize it.
Alessandro Spugna’s Roma arrives at the duel at the best moment of the season, after qualifying for the Coppa final thanks to a goal by Vicky Losada against AC Milan and finishing top of the regular season of the league. “We have little to lose”, recognized the captain Elisa Bartoli together with Alessandro Spugna, who did not hide the difficulty of tonight’s game: “The more Barça games I watch, the fewer weak points I find in them. We are up against one of the strongest teams in Europe. A team that will not allow us to have possession, but we must not face it with fear, but rather with awareness”.
With more than 35,000 tickets already sold, the Romanista stadium will break the attendance record for a women’s Champions League match in Italy, surpassing the 16,781 spectators for Juventus-Chelsea last season. “Playing here is a dream”, confessed captain Bartoli: “I have told the players that they have to enjoy it. The Champions League is a dream for us, we train for this”. “Maybe we won’t have 70-80% of the possession that we usually have, but we will try to make it 40-50%. We are not going to be better than Barça, but being realistic and intelligent, we can make a big splash”.
Created in 2018, the women’s section of Roma has not stopped growing until it is among the eight best in Europe this season. Dominator in Italy, the Giallorrosso team is a team made from the experience of a handful of ex-captains from various countries. Former Barça player Vicky Losada, incorporated in the last winter transfer window, was the last to join a squad that also includes the historic Valentina Giacinti (Milan), the team’s top scorer in Europe, Carina Wenninger (Bayern) or herself Elisa Bartoli, captain of Roma since its creation.
“Vicky’s quality as a player and her experience are not in dispute, but she needs a little more time to show her best level,” explained Spugna, who did not want to reveal whether the Terrassa player would start against her former team. For her part, Giráldez traveled to Rome with 23 troops and the only casualties were the injured Alexia Putellas, Mariona Caldentey and Claudia Pina.
