Pere Romeu was named Best Coach at the Gala del Balón de Oro femenino after leading Barcelona through a season in which the club won the Champions League, Liga F Moeve, the Supercopa and the Copa de la Reina. It was a recognition built on results: one league loss, a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in the Supercopa final, a 3-1 win over Atlético de Madrid in the Copa de la Reina final, and a 4-0 victory over OL Lyonnes in the Champions League final.
That is why his name is being searched now. Barcelona did not just collect trophies; it finished the Champions League unbeaten and lifted the competition for a fourth time in club history, with Ewa Pajor scoring twice and Salma Paralluelo adding two more in the final. For Romeu, the award tied directly to a campaign that left little room for argument.
He said the honor felt collective and thanked his footballers and staff, calling the prize one shared by the people who are with the team 24/7. He also pointed back to the path that brought him here, saying he came through CP Sarrià, CE Hospitalet and Barcelona’s youth football, and he thanked his family, his parents, his brothers and his partner in a speech that mixed pride with gratitude.
The detail that gives the award its edge is what had not happened before. No Barcelona coach had previously won this distinction in either the Ballon d’Or or FIFA The Best, even with the club’s recent run of dominance. France Football has only looked at women’s coaching three times in these awards, a narrow field that has already included Emma Hayes and Sarina Wiegman, and Romeu has now joined that short list with a season that was almost impossible to ignore.
What comes next is not another result but a harder standard. Barcelona will now be measured against the season that earned Romeu the prize, and the question is whether a team that has won almost everything can keep turning that level of control into the next one.
