Football loves debates, and figures are often there to fuel them. While Luis Enrique is celebrated as the architect of Paris Saint-Germain's European triumph, a cold and implacable statistic has just resurfaced. And it’s enough to make some people cringe. If we stick to the ratios of points per match and winning percentage, one man did better than the Asturian on the Parisian bench: Unai Emery. Yes, the coach of the famous “remontada”. A provocative statement, but one which is based on stubborn facts and which invites a more nuanced comparison of the two mandates.
Emery, the king of domestic statistics
On paper, there is no debate. In 114 matches, Unai Emery won 76.32% of his matches, for a ratio of 2.42 points per match. Luis Enrique, in 131 matches, peaks at 69.47% wins, for 2.26 points per match. The gap is significant. In Ligue 1, the Basque even holds the best ratio in the club's history, with 2.46 points per match. These figures paint the portrait of a coach of formidable efficiency, a master of regularity who perfectly knew how to optimize his squad to dominate the French championship.
But Luis Enrique won the war, not just the battles
However, this purely statistical reading is misleading. Because if Emery has piled up victories, his record remains tainted by two traumatic eliminations in the round of 16 of the Champions League. Luis Enrique brought to PSG what the club had been waiting for for more than a decade: the big-eared cup. This historic coronation, obtained at the end of a controlled season, absolutely changes the entire perspective. It is the result of a radically different strategy, that of massive rotation and the absolute prioritization of Europe.
What if Unai Emery was underrated? The Stat that calls out
Two philosophies, two objectives
The difference between the two men lies there. Emery systematically fielded his best team in Ligue 1 to ensure national domination. Luis Enrique, for his part, does not hesitate to “sacrifice” points in the championship to preserve the freshness of his executives in view of the European deadlines.
“There is a goal at the end of the season and you have to know how to manage it,” he explained. Its lower points ratio is therefore not a sign of poorer management, but the consequence of a strategic calculation which has paid off at the highest level.
History will remember the winner of the Champions League
So, who did better? The raw numbers prove Unai Emery right. But history will only remember one thing: Luis Enrique is the coach who placed PSG on the roof of Europe. In a club where the Champions League had become an obsession, this achievement erases all the statistics. Emery was perhaps a better day-to-day manager, but Luis Enrique was the one who knew how to lead his troops to final victory. And in Paris, that's the only thing that really matters.
