This Sunday, June 29, in Atlanta, the looks of the world of football will be on an enticing poster: Paris Saint-Germain of Luis Enrique against Inter Miami of Lionel Messi, in the round of 16 of the Club World Cup. Beyond the sporting issue, it is the reunion between two men whose collaboration in FC Barcelona, between 2014 and 2017, was as explosive as they are successful. A complex relationship, born in distrust, marked by an open crisis that could have been dynamiting everything, before turning into a formidable alliance which led Barça to the top of Europe. Decryption of a duo who redefined the codes, where the authority of an intransigent coach had to compose with the genius of a planetary superstar.
The arrival of Luis Enrique: iron discipline and cultural shock
Summer 2014. Luis Enrique arrives on the bench of an FC Barcelona in search of rebound after a season without major title under Gerardo Martino. His mandate is clear: restoring discipline and requirement. No more lax supposedly, places a strict method: closed sessions, drastic weight controls, non -negotiable punctuality. For Lionel Messi, just returned from a trying World Cup and a final lost with Argentina, the change is brutal. The Asturian wants “Reset”
Routines, including for executives like Argentinian. A culture shock for a cloakroom accustomed to a certain autonomy, and the beginning of a cohabitation which promises to be electric.
January 2015: Anoeta's breakdown
The first months were tense, but it was in January 2015 that the crisis broke out in broad daylight. On January 2, during a training, a “high” verbal hanging opposed Messi to his trainer following an unshined fault. The incident, later confirmed by Jérémy Mathieu, is a prelude. Two days later, the thunderclap: for the crucial trip to Anoeta against Real Sociedad, Luis Enrique leaves Lionel Messi – and Neymar – on the bench. Barça bows (0-1). This is the open crisis, a “bomb” that shakes the club foundations. The next day, sports director Andoni Zubizarreta is dismissed, Carles Puyol resigns from his post in management. The message is clear: the club supports its star against its coach. “” The only coach who dared Messsi on the bench… ” And which then seemed on an ejectable seat.
Luis Enrique – Messi: From the anoeta crisis to eternal respect, the secrets of an explosive duo
From crisis to hat -trick: the Renaissance orchestrated by the locker room
It is there that the collective intelligence of the Barcelona wardrobe comes into play. Under the leadership of the captains, Xavi in mind, and with the role of mediator of Javier Mascherano (today coach of … Inter Miami), a “pax barcelonista” is sealed. Messi won the case on his positioning: he finds the right axis, Luis Suárez settles definitively at the forefront, Neymar keeps his left corridor. Luis Enrique, pragmatic, accepts. Against all expectations, this tactical concession, which could have been perceived as an admission of weakness, transforms the team. The famous MSN (Messi-Suárez-Neymar) takes off, terrorizes the European defenses and scored the trifle of 122 goals all competitions, a record. Anoeta's argument was less a divorce than express couple therapy: Chaos on Monday, tripled on Saturday in June. Barça achieves a historic liga-cum-cottage of the Champions King-Ligue.
Mutual respect built on requirement and success
If the relationship had a stormy beginnings, it has undoubtedly turned into a deep mutual respect. Luis Enrique, despite its initial rigidity, has been able to show tactical flexibility, offering Messi the keys to the game between the lines. He also intelligently managed his star playing time, with often decisive rotations and entries (as against Atlético in September 2015). In return, Messi recognized the contribution of his coach. “Special relationship. The January 2015 clash was resolved, then we won everything, ” he confided to Movistar in 2022, even adding: “We even tried to convince him to stay. »» For his part, Luis Enrique, while claiming that ” The club is still above the players, even Leo, “ recognized that Messi “Was able to understand my requirements. »Mascherano, a privileged witness, talks about a “Competitive DNA injection” brought by Enrique, emphasizing the
“Mutual respect” who linked the two men.
Atlanta 2025: expected reunion, a tactical duel in perspective
Sunday, this rich and complex past will resurge. Luis Enrique, faithful to his requirement, has already warned last May that “the favorites (of the Club World Cup) remain the Europeans,” without directly aiming at Messi but recalling the competitiveness of the old continent. The dominant-dominated dynamic of 2015 has given way to solid professional esteem. Could this passive influence the management of the tactical duel in Atlanta? One thing is certain: the reunion between these two sacred monsters, which have won so much after having bordered on the break, promise a fascinating new page in their common history.
