Ingrid Engen: UWCL final vs former side Barcelona is ‘about the football and nothing else’

The European powerhouses have held the UWCL title a record eight times and will be searching for a ninth against Barcelona on Saturday. Meanwhile, Barca will be looking to reclaim their crown after relinquishing it to Arsenal last season. Ingrid Engen and Jonatan Giráldez prepare to face former club Barcelona Engen isn’t the only familiar name preparing to face former club Barcelona.

OL Lyonnes manager Jonatan Giráldez managed the three-time UWCL champions between 2021 and 2024, and was a coach at the club prior to that. “He has his ideas of how he wants his team to play, a lot of these things I recognise and remember from when we were at Barcelona together,” Engen said when asked about Giráldez managing her at both clubs. “Obviously he’s adapted to the players we have here.

He’s managing to play his type of football with his ideas, but of course with a focus on the strengths we have here at this team and the players that we have. ” BILBAO, SPAIN – MAY 25: Jonatan Giraldez, at San Mames Stadium on May 25, 2024 in Bilbao, Spain. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images) Friendships and loyalties put away for the UWCL final Not only did Engen win the UWCL twice with Barcelona during her four-year stay, she also lifted the Liga F trophy four times, alongside five other domestic titles in a hugely successful era.

That being said, there’s no doubt of her ties to the city, the club and its players and staff. “I think that in the game, you manage to turn everything else off,” Engen said. “I think then, once the game starts it’s about the football and nothing else.