It could only be him. After more than a decade of disappointments, the Qatar-era PSG have finally lifted the Champions League trophy, with Luis Enrique at the helm.
The Parisian club claimed the most prestigious title not with a galaxy of superstars, but by putting the team above all else. And that is entirely down to the Asturian coach.
After revitalising the Spanish national team with a run to the EURO 2021 semi-finals, but falling short at the following World Cup, Luis Enrique returned to club management for the first time since leaving Barcelona.
With the Blaugrana, he won the Champions League with the trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, who barely needed a complex game plan to make a difference.
At PSG, things were different. Messi and Neymar had both left before being reunited with their former coach, who then moved on from the Kylian Mbappe era at the end of the 2023/24 season. PSG’s rise came without their all-time top scorer, with Ousmane Dembele stepping up as the key man. It didn’t happen overnight.
The first half of the season was tricky, especially in the Champions League. During the group stage, it seemed as though he was trying to move too quickly, but he never wavered from his approach. It took a spark for everything to click, and that moment came in January.
Trailing 2-0 at the Parc des Princes to a Manchester City side in disarray, PSG turned it all around, with Dembele, despite being under the weather, coming on at half-time. That 4-2 win, which can’t be separated from Paulo Gazzaniga’s blunder in the dying moments of the first match against Girona (1-0), saved PSG’s campaign.
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Premier League leaders Liverpool were knocked out at Anfield, despite PSG having won the first leg at home. In the quarter-finals, Aston Villa missed their chance. In the semi-finals, Arsenal couldn’t build on their impressive display against Real Madrid.
It was never a walk in the park, but Luis Enrique instilled his philosophy, and it was thanks to this that PSG outclassed Inter 5-0 in the final.
A complete triumph, a true demonstration of what it means to play as a team. Even at 3-0, 4-0, 5-0, PSG kept pressing and harrying a worn-out Nerazzurri side. That’s the Luis Enrique touch - the mark of a man who is never satisfied.
