Luis Enrique won everything. Or almost. Last night, his team drew (1-1) but qualified for the Champions League final on the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich. Since then, the Spanish technician has been showered with praise. This was already the case last week after the 5-4 victory in the semi-final first leg. It’s the same this Thursday, the day after a new masterclass from his team. Even those who were the most virulent towards him bowed down. Daniel Riolo in the lead. The journalist of RMC Sport was not kind to the Asturian, whom he had nicknamed “GĂ©o-trouvetou or whom he had said that it was a mistake to recruit him. Yesterday, he admitted: “I am convinced that PSG is even stronger than last year. It’s honestly incredible.” A way to salute Lucho’s work. Jamie Carragher, who had been at odds with the coach since the semi-final lost to BVB, apologized to him.
Spain apologizes
“Luis, I would like to apologize for my behavior in Dortmund during the semi-finals where I wore a Dortmund scarf. But as we all know, sometimes you have a few drinks and get a little carried away. I apologize. We absolutely love your team for what you did last year. You have been an absolute joy to watch for the last two Champions League seasons. And congratulations on finding the final. Well done, sir.” In Spain also some have expressed their mea culpa to the PSG coach. This is the case of Marca who wrote: “what coach we lost with Luis Enrique…We lacked patience with him. We didn’t understand him, and we didn’t forgive him for his rare mistakes. When it comes to national teams, we are not a country accustomed to unity. Our prejudices towards clubs prevent us from making a calm judgment, from having a detached and objective view. A similar scenario happened with Luis Enrique. His question-and-answer sessions on Twitch – with an unprecedented link with the supporters –, the summoning of too many players from the same club, and the choice to start Rodri in central defense: so many details exploited to crucify the Asturian coach. »
Marca continues: “the fact that the team had a strong identity, an ambitious approach, and that it always played the same way, regardless of the players on the pitch, hardly mattered. The mistake was to doubt his coaching skills simply because he was not appreciated. And he was condemned for losing a World Cup on penalties, during a match he had dominated from start to finish. Faced with an opponent who, incidentally, also almost eliminated France (…) Today, this coach who sowed division, transmitted hostility and led Spain adrift is on the verge of winning his third Champions League title, barring intervention from Arsenal. He is one step away from achieving the unthinkable in a club where stars and coaches, millions and millions of euros, have paraded. PSG is today a great team, a Team, with a capital E, because Luis Enrique is at its head. Today we boast of a coach under attack from all sides. »
Luis Enrique, a national pride
Indeed, the Asturian had been the victim of a lot of criticism when he managed La Roja. His success at PSG is also a failure for Spanish football which failed to understand it according to Marca. He is now a model and a reference on the other side of the Pyrenees. A.S. congratulates him. “With Luis Enrique, PSG tried everything for everything, a strategy unprecedented until then: patience. The club granted him full powers and adopted a “degalacticization” approach. More team, less prestige. In three years, they parted ways with Messi, Neymar, MbappĂ©, Ramos, Mukiele and Donnarumma, some still at the top of their game but with impressive records, others displaying the same thirst for victory as those whose careers have stalled: Vitinha, Barcolá, Kang-in Lee, Pacho, DouĂ©, Neves, Kvaratskhelia, Dro… And they relaunched DembĂ©lĂ©, a brilliant talent on the course irregular, who won the Ballon d’Or thanks to a simple (or perhaps not so simple) change in mentality and habits on and off the field.
ABC Deportes also lost to Lucho, who became a source of national pride with his Parisian successes. “The big secret of Luis Enrique’s PSG lies in his legs. This is the second final in a row for Luis Enrique’s team, but also the confirmation of an advantage that goes well beyond simple talent: his players approach the final stages with greater energy than all their opponents. In a season marked by an overloaded schedule, squad rotation has proven valuable. While many European teams accumulate injuries or see their players pushed to their physical limits after months of matches every three days, PSG has managed to spread the workload without sacrificing its competitiveness. This is where the influence of Luis Enrique is fully felt. PSG has found a competitive advantage precisely where the big clubs suffer the most today: fatigue.
Lucho’s PSG, a reference
ABC Deportes then mentioned the Lucho paw: “but all this would be in vain without the internal management of Luis Enrique. Rotations only work if the stars agree not to play every minute. And this is where the Asturian coach built a locker room convinced by the project. Wednesday’s image sums it up perfectly: DembĂ©lĂ©, the reigning Ballon d’Or, was the first of the attacking trident to be substituted and finished the match from the bench, like any other player. This is undoubtedly one of PSG’s greatest victories.” The Confidential talks about it too. “The moment Luis Enrique proved he was above the PSG stars. The Spanish coach led PSG to their second consecutive Champions League final after knocking out Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. Luis Enrique instilled a collective spirit where the team takes precedence over the individual.”
Which pleasantly surprised quite a few people in Spain and Europe as explained this morning on our site. The Confidential concludes this festival of praise with strong words about Luis Enrique. “For Arsenal, this PSG will be a real nightmare. We can stop Bayern, but this PSG seems invincible. Luis Enrique accomplished an undeniable feat: making his team the current kings of the Champions League. The king is dead – Real Madrid – and now PSG reigns.” A PSG with Luis Enrique sauce which some should be inspired by according to a journalist from the Cadena SER. “If I were the next coach of Real Madrid, upon arriving in the locker room, and without saying anything, I would put this PSG match to the players. That’s how we get to play in Champions League finals by running.” Luis Enrique has obviously found the recipe for success. In the country, we would like him to share it.
