July 5, 2023, 4:48 PM
July 5, 2023, 4:48 PM
The former Barcelona coach and former Spain coach Luis Enrique Martínez was appointed as a substitute for Christophe Galtier on the bench for Paris Saint-Germain, with the main mission of giving the French club its long-awaited first Champions League.
The news had been gaining weight in recent weeks in the press and was finally made official this Wednesday by the club. The coach was already presented to journalists and joins the entity until 2025.
“It means a new cycle, a new way of playing, with one of the best coaches in the world, not because of what he has won but because of his offensive style of football,” PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi told reporters, sitting next to the 53-year-old Asturian coach, at a conference press conference at the new training center in Poissy, on the outskirts of Paris.
“I can guarantee that we will work as a team”, promised the new coach, eager to “get titles”. He also insisted that he will propose “attacking, offensive football that entertains the fans and that gives results.”
After having left the position of Spain coach last December, after the fall of the ‘Red’ in the round of 16 of the World Cup against Morocco, ‘Lucho’ was back on the market. He sounded for a time as a possible new coach of several teams, especially Chelsea and Naples, but finally their destination is the Parc des Princes.
He will have the hard task of turning the page on the ‘Galtier era’, marked by a disappointing game despite the constellation of stars on the squad and by the elimination in the round of 16 of the Champions League against Bayern Munich. PSG once again won Ligue 1, the eleventh in its history, but the loot was insufficient for the team’s leaders and fans.
With the Spanish coach, the Parisian club, owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), manages to add a great name in international football to his projectHe, with a prestigious career as a player and as a coach. He had previously explored other options, such as the German Julian Nagelsmann, formerly of Bayern Munich.
Finally Luis Enrique will be the eighth coach PSG since the Qataris took control of the club in 2011.
The leaders of the club continue to have as obsession to win the first Champions League from Paris Saint-Germain. They were close in 2020, but then Bayern Munich beat them in the final.
Luis Enrique knows the recipe since he won the ‘Orejona’ in 2015 with FC Barcelona, at the time of the MSN (Messi-Suárez-Neymar), then beating Juventus 3-1 in the final in Berlin.
In his playing days, the former attacking midfielder for Real Madrid (1992-1996) and Barça (1996-2004) He was also champion of the European Cup Winners’ Cup, in 1997, precisely beating PSG (1-0) in the final.
As Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique was the Barça coach on the night of the famous ‘Comeback’ round of 16 of the Champions League, when the Catalans thrashed PSG 6-1 to lift an adverse 4-0 in a knockout round of the Champions League. Quite a trauma for the French champion, who continues to appear in his nightmares.
Luis Enrique gained prestige as a coach at Celta de Vigo (2013-2014), which opened the doors of Barcelona for him. Before him he had had a more disappointing stage in Rome (2011-2012).
At Barcelona (2014-2017), the Asturian coach saw his authority shake in January 2015, after angering Messi for leaving him as a substitute at the start of a match lost 1-0 against Real Sociedad. The club had to stifle that attempt at internal crisis.
In Paris, Kylian Mbappé will be the star to control. The PSG star appears to want to leave the club on his release at the end of his contract in June 2024, something the club refuses to do.
“If Kylian wants to continue, you have to sign a new contract, You can’t let one of the best players in the world go for free,” President Al Khelaifi said on Wednesday.
In favor of Luis Enrique to convince Mbappé would be his offensive philosophy and in favor of possession, one of the pending subjects of PSG in recent seasons. Approving it could trigger the scoring performance of the French soccer star striker, eager for titles and who also dreams of the Champions League.
