Luis Enrique: the words after PSG-Arsenal

He had an appointment with history. And Luis Enrique arrived on time, as always. Black t-shirt, essential look, almost like an ordinary man after a night that was anything but normal. After all, the accessories are enough: the gold medal on his chest, the big-eared cup in his hand, the certification of his PSG’s European encore. Then he speaks and almost tries to bring everything back to normal. “It’s a victory that we deserved throughout the season, even if the final was very close. I congratulate Arsenal, they played like a great team. We tried to control the ball and increase the pressing. And we won the title.” The rest is almost an acknowledgment: “This is the best moment of the season. We are still champions, twice in a row, it’s incredible.” And, once again, Luis Enrique downplays it: “What did I say to my team at half-time? Nothing: the normal things you have to do to attack a team that defends very well. Penalties? We’re used to it.” Everything was normal then, almost as if they hadn’t just accomplished a historic feat. And when someone tries to talk to him about the legend, the coach closes the conversation in his style: “Me in the legend? I’m not interested.”

the captain

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Marquinhos speaks as captain and as the man who symbolizes this cycle: “We’ve worked so hard to get this far, it’s been a very long season, now we have to enjoy it, we’ve suffered a lot. It was very tough against Arsenal, but seeing the fans so happy is the best possible ending. We said to ourselves ‘one is historic, the second is legend’, this was our motivation for today”. The Brazilian also gives credit to the coach: “The coach was able to manage us in the best way. We have a beautiful team, we can do beautiful things.” There is no doubt about penalties: “We knew we were strong, that we could win. We have a goalkeeper who knows what to do, players who know what to do.” And on the possible assault on Real Madrid’s record of three consecutive Champions League titles, Marquinhos glosses over with a smile: “We’ll see, we’ll see… Now there’s the World Cup, but PSG will always fight for the highest level.”

the MVP

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The story of Vitinha, MVP of the final, is more technical and analytical: “If they had told me as soon as I arrived in Paris that I would have won two Champions Leagues, I would have thought it was an ambitious prospect, but we deserved it. In my opinion today we were the best. But now it’s difficult to talk about it, we need to enjoy the moment.” Then he explains what makes this PSG team special: “Our best quality? We’re humble, we run for each other. We have a lot of mobility, and it’s something that creates a lot of problems for other teams. We like to play this way. If you win, it’s perfect.” The midfielder returns to the match: “I don’t think I’ve ever had cramps before, but you can feel the Champions League final. The body is more tense and everything becomes more difficult. I wanted to be there, but I’m happy that the team didn’t betray.” Finally, the tactical reading of the match: “We knew it would be difficult to face Arsenal, they are very good at defending and feel comfortable. In the first half we didn’t have space in the center and between the lines, but we were patient, trying to find the best solution. In the second half we found more space and in the end we deserved it.”