There was no patience with him. Not enough. We did not know how to understand or forgive the mistakes, counted, that he had.. We are not a country, in terms of selection, used to rowing in the same direction. Phobias with a club seal prevent us from making a calm judgment, from having a look from a distance, with perspective. And that turns Spain into a crusher for selectors when things don’t go well. And even more so now, that we come from where we come from.
Something like this happened with Luis Enrique. His offices on twitch -with a closeness to the fan never seen before-, calling up too many players from the same team or placing Rodri as central defender They were details with which the Asturian was crucified.
That the team had a clear identity, an ambitious proposal and that it always played the same thing, regardless of who was on the field, mattered little. And he made the mistake of doubting his worth as a coach because he was not liked.. And he was sentenced for losing in a World Cup in a penalty shootout in a match that he dominated from start to finish. Against a rival who, by the way, was also on the verge of sending France home. Contempt for the person opposite, another Spanish classic.
Today, that coach who caused division, transmitted hostility and led Spain aimlessly is on his way to winning, if Arsenal does not prevent him, his third Champions League. He is one step away from achieving something unthinkable in a club for which stars and coaches had paraded millions and millions of euros. Everything completely lost. Ancelotti, Blanc, Emery, Tuchel, Pochettino… and none of them found the formula. Ibrahimovic, Di María, Cavani, Verratti, Mbappé, Thiago Silva, Neymar, Messi… and PSG never showed themselves as a team.
Today Ousmane Dembélé, Barça’s failed signing, is the Ballon d’Or winner. And Vitinha is one of the best midfielders in the world. Achraf and Nuno Mendes, surely top 3 in their position. We had to bet on Kvaratskhelia, an emerging star in Naples who has made the definitive leap to the elite. Everyone saw it, of course, but you had to go for it and dig deep into your pockets. And also put him to defend and run after the ball. Or pay 40 kilos for a center back who had had a good season at Eintracht Frankfurt. And put him next to Marquinhos.
And so with many others. PSG today is a great team, a team, in capital letters, because Luis Enrique is in charge. “I will control all game situations,” he said when Mbappé came out. Others would have mourned his departure. Not him. He built from a collective perspective and his team is, once again, a Champions League finalist. And not in any way. Winning at Stamford Bridge, winning at Anfield, drawing at the Allianz after 94 minutes going ahead and with the tie in his pocket.
But it didn’t work here. He had coach fits. He could not lead a team that belongs to everyone, through diplomacy and harmony. We wanted it to become something it is not. As if trying to please everyone was with him. Today we boast of a coach who was attacked from almost all fronts. Fortunately, Spain found another great coach along the way. And, luckily, the national team has an almost unrepeatable generation of footballers to dream of another World Cup. Because football is always for the footballers, isn’t it?
