Paris Saint-Germain is more close to wasteful, but unsuccessful years to win the Champions League more than ever before. The new stability and maturity of the team is attributed to coach Luis Enrique.
Luis Enrique was unable to leave the steep template after making it perfect with Paris Saint-Germain, with two wins in the semi-finals against Arsenal. PSG had previously eliminated two more clubs from the Premier League with Liverpool and Aston Villa. “We’ll come from the farmers league, right?”the PSG coach asked primarily towards the British journalists present. He referred to some statements from the island that look condescending at all other leagues next to the star -occupied Premier League.
In fact, for the first time in 21 years, since FC Porto triumphed with the then coaching star Jose Mourinho against AS Monaco, no team from England, Spain or the Bundesliga in the final for the highest title in club football. Instead, Inter Milan and Paris Saint -Germain – two clubs that very few had expected there.
No Mbappé, no Messi, no Neymar – PSG in the final
This is the story before the Champions League final of Munich, and which apparently also wanted to tell Luis Enrique again. Of course, primarily in relation to his club, which nobody likes to be part of the serious title candidate before the season. Why, after Katar’s football branch had spent over the year, for star players, without the longed-for success, the title win of the Champions League. With the exception of a single participation in the final, the shortened final tournament in the Corona season.
Last summer, Kylian Mbappé, the last remaining of the Galactic Sturm trio with Neymar and Lionel Messi, his hometown, also left Mbappé to switch to Real Madrid as a personal liberation.
PSG as a strong collective – the work of Luis Enrique
For Luis Enrique, this story also runs through the previous, very successful season at PSG, like the start signal to finally install its concept of football at PSG, freed from exceptional players such as Mbappé and their special position, which they naturally take in a team. The Spaniard, felt as the first PSG coach since the takeover of the Qataris, has managed to form a strong collective from a dysfunctional accumulation of individualists.
With a system based on intensive pressing and tactical unity. Luis Enrique, who previously trained the Spanish national team, has established a stable 4-3-3 basic orientation at PSG, the same system, which also plays “La Roja” mostly in the possession phases.
From his time as a national coach, he also brought his credo to rely on young players, “They are hungry”he also implemented this at PSG. All others are also sorted out – even if they were brought from Frankfurt for almost 100 million euros like Randal Kolo Muani.
“He did a fantastic job. He built a team, worked hard behind the scenes, he is a genius“, said former Dortmund Achraf Hakimi after the final move into his coach. “We are now doing a lot more than one team. We play for each other”also confirm Gianluigi Donnarumma, the strong backing in the box.
Even Dembélé again in the upswing
The players follow their trainer, even the long -seeking Ousmane Dembélé experienced an unexpected upswing under Luis Enrique, in a new role as a central striker, so he even became a top scorer of the French league. In addition, Dembélé also fulfills an important role in the coach’s extremely running approach, as one of the first players who attack the opponent early, in the game structure.
Dembélé, once a 100 million man, is also the counter example of the widespread impression that PSG as an underdog, stormed into the final class with a young wild talent selection. In addition to Dembélé, for example, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who at least 70 million euro winged strikers came from Naples. In midfield, alongside Vitinha and Joao Neves, the Spaniard Fabián set the tone, the secret star of the European Championship.
But overall Luis Enrique has an exciting and above all excellently set mixture with highly gifted like Désiré Doué and Warren Zaire-Emery, both only 19 years old, and expensive stars such as the Georgian Kvaratskhelia or João Neves, the PSG at Benfica.
Luis Enrique already with Barca winner in the Champions League
The Spanish coach also brings the necessary experience to survive in big finals. Exactly ten years ago he led FC Barcelona to the Champions League victory: “The goal is to write history and the first to win this long -awaited trophy at PSG.”
It would certainly be a great personal success for the Spaniard, after a difficult time as a national coach. The Asturier had had to leave the post in 2019 for a few months after his daughter fell seriously ill and died. At the World Cup in Qatar and at the European Championship 2021, he was unhappily out of penalty shooting with “La Roja”.
Spain’s association officials subsequently lost confidence in the self -confident coach, who had not done Real Madrid professionals at the European Championship. But Enrique had already shaped the basic framework for the selection that stormed into the European title in a brilliant manner in 2024. As a PSG coach, he now has the chance to put on the crown in European football.