"This time I really saw myself as having a chance to be Barça's coach."

BarcelonaHe arrived in 2019, brought in by Lluís Cortés, with the goal of "winning another league title." Six years later, he has left Barça after winning three Champions League titles, six league titles, five Copa de la Reina trophies, and five Super Cups. Rafael Navarro (El Pinell de Brai, 1986) has experienced all the successes of the women's first team firsthand. The Catalan—who was assistant coach to Lluís Cortés, Jonatan Giráldez, and Pere Romeu—took on the challenge of leading the Swiss national team last November. "The working tools I have here are quite similar to those I had at Barça. Besides that, the ideas I've tried to introduce are very well received by the Federation, which is open to making changes," he explained to ARA.

A new stage in his professional career that helps him better balance work and family life with his wife and three children. "Now I can adjust my travel to my needs; I can have meetings on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. With Barça, you have training, matches, competitions, and there's little room for maneuver. The schedule is what it is, and you can't adapt it." Besides, it also gives him the opportunity to be a head coach. "It's a proposal that fits my needs and my desire to manage a team again without having to go to a very distant country. Plus, it's a national team I can compete with." However, he misses the daily grind. "I'd been training every week for twenty years. Obviously, you're still in the competitive world and you're constantly watching matches, but you're not part of the day-to-day operations."

Six years in which he has reached the pinnacle with Barça

Reaching the top might be achievable, but the real challenge is staying there for as many years as Barça has. The key, according to Navarro, is the competitive spirit of the players and coaching staff. "Many teams win one final and that's enough, but they always want more. They've always found motivation: now it's their first Champions League title, now their second, this year because the final is in Bilbao..." Six years in which three coaches have come and gone: Cortés, Giráldez, and Romeu. "All three are highly capable and professional coaches. From a footballing perspective, the club looks for similar people so that the methodology doesn't change too much. The difference lies more in how they manage the group, where each one has their own personality."

Navarro doesn't hide his regret at not having been able to manage "the best club in the world." "You never know, but especially this last time, I felt I had a chance of being the coach. Both assistants, Pere Romeu and I, had conversations with the club, and in the end, the decision was made to go with Pedro. If I had been chosen, I would have been delighted because we would all like to coach Barça. People have their criteria for choosing someone competent enough, and for me, there's no problem." The coach from the Ebro region also highlights the support Romeu provides on a daily basis. "He has created a good atmosphere within the coaching staff, with highly motivated people and very clear roles and responsibilities so that everyone can contribute as much as possible from their area. He has a great understanding of the game and is able to analyze it very well to make quick and effective decisions." In this regard, he considers the criticism the team received last season "excessive and unfair." "The performance and results were good; three of the four titles were won and We only lost the Champions League final 1-0 in a match that wasn't our best, but one in which we dominated."In fact, it so happens that both Cortés and Giráldez lost their first European final, while winning their second. "With time we will realize what this team has been, undoubtedly something sensational."

A new game model

Navarro, who still lives in Catalonia but travels frequently to Switzerland, aims to introduce a new training methodology, a new playing style, and ultimately, to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. In the first qualifying round, Switzerland has been drawn into Group B2 with Northern Ireland, Turkey, and Malta. To achieve this, Navarro has a player who knows the Barça style of play perfectly: Sydney Schertenleib. "She's a versatile player who started out as a deep-lying attacking midfielder, but we've also seen her play as an attacking midfielder and left winger, and she's a great goalscorer."

Schertenleib is one example of this evolution of Swiss women's football. "Both the Spanish and Swiss leagues are competitions on the path to proper professionalization. In Spain, they're perhaps a step ahead because a collective bargaining agreement was reached a few years ago, and there are also requirements for stadiums and pitch conditions. All matches can be watched on television, something that isn't yet the case here in Switzerland, but I hope from here," the coach concludes.