10 years after his Champions League won with Barça, in Berlin, Luis Enrique will officer in another final, still in Germany, but this time in Munich. Other things have changed since this time, it will be at the head of Paris Saint-Germain. Less than two years after his arrival in the French capital, the Asturian collects the fruit his immense work. In Paris, Enrique has been able to set up a real collective, and become destructive this season in Europe. Liverpool and Aston Villa paid the price, such as Arsenal, beaten at the Parc des Princes (2-1, 3-1 Cumulative score) despite a beautiful face displayed.
Obviously, the former coach of La Roja was overwhelmed by emotion after the qualification won by his men this evening: “It's a lot of emotions, too much. What suffering this match. Arsenal played very well. They put a lot of strength. We were forced to defend all the time and go for counterattacks. This is not the match we wanted but … when you have all the balloons to defend on stop kicks, it's difficult. We made a lot of effort to look for solutions and it was very difficult (…) for me, it's important to stay calm. Otherwise, I would be expelled in every game.»»
He never lost faith in his men
Looking in the rear view mirror, see Paris in the Champions League final this season can be like an anomaly. In November, the red and blue vegetated in the depths of the classification of the C1 league phase. But even at this period, Luis Enrique was convinced of the potential of his team. This is what he said at the microphone of Canal+ This evening : “surprised to be in the final? I remember a meeting with the players when the results were catastrophic in the Champions League when it was unfair. Me and my staff say: “We are one of the best teams in Europe. We don't have the efficiency but it will be fine.” The players were sensational and it is a magnificent moment today for our supporters.»»
“”It's everyday work. After the first year, we did a good job but it was not enough. I told my staff “if I can't get a different mentality every day, I'm going”. But this year, all training has been exceptional, I haven't changed anything. I told the players “If you don't make the efforts, someone will (laughs).”We will now have to convert the last opportunity against Inter Milan on May 31. 5 years after their last final, and even if the workforce has almost fully reshaped since (only Marquinhos is still there among the holders), Parisians will finally go to seek this trophy. A trophy that will also come back to those who have made the heyday of Paris in recent years.
