Luis Enrique got a black T-shirt from a bag. To see on it: a drawing that stylized him with his daughter. A club flag from Paris Saint-Germain was shown. After the triumph in the Champions League against Inter Milan (5-0), the PSG coach emotionally commemorated his daughter Xana, who died of a malignant bone tumor in 2019 at the age of just nine.
And not only that: after the final whistle, the PSG fans revealed a giant banner on the Enrique and his daughter. The PSG trainer watched the scene touched and in his eyes with tears. “Xana is always with us. We always think of you, we love you. We carry them in our heart forever,” said the Asturier after the game.
Flashback: When Luis Enrique won the premier class with FC Barcelona in 2015, he was scoring around with the then five -year -old Xana in the middle circle of the Berlin Olympic Stadium and celebrating the title with her. Xana had a blue-red Barca jersey and a club flag in his hand. The touching pictures of father and daughter had gone around the world at the time. That is why it was a special request of the Spaniard to commemorate his daughter in this special way in Munich after victory with PSG.
Enrique had resigned coaching position in Spain
Enrique resigned in March 2019 as a Spanish national coach to only be there for Xana and his family. Xana fought against cancer for five months. Vain. “You will be the star that runs our family,” wrote Enrique on social media afterwards. The former professional is convinced that his daughter will continue to accompany him. “It will no longer be physically there, but spiritual – and that is very important to me,” he said.
In a documentary he had commented in a similar way: “After death, my mother could not bear the photos of Xana at home. I then told her that it had to be because Xana lives. We speak of her every day, remember her and laugh. I am convinced that Xana continues to see us.”
The importance of “contact” with his deceased daughter was also felt at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Before the game of his Spaniards against Germany, Enrique emphasized: “Today we are not only playing against Germany, today is also a very special day, because Xanita would have been 13 years old. Amore, wherever you are, many kisses, have a great day, we love you.”