'I Represent The Barca Way', Insists PSG Coach Luis Enrique
Muhammad Rameez Published April 09, 2024 | 11:46 PM
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has added spice to Wednesday's huge Champions League clash against Barcelona by insisting he represents more closely the values of the Catalan club than his opposite number Xavi Hernandez
Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Apr, 2024) Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has added spice to Wednesday's huge Champions League clash against Barcelona by insisting he represents more closely the values of the Catalan club than his opposite number Xavi Hernandez.
"I do, without doubt," Luis Enrique said when asked at a press conference on Tuesday, on the eve of the quarter-final first leg in the French capital.
"Just look at all the stats and the trophies won, and without any doubt I represent the Barca way better, although others may have different opinions."
Luis Enrique, 53, spent the last eight years of his playing career at Barcelona, notably starring under Bobby Robson in the team that beat PSG in the 1997 Cup Winners' Cup final and winning two La Liga titles under Louis van Gaal.
He later coached Barca from 2014 to 2017, leading them to Champions League glory in his first campaign and overseeing two Spanish title triumphs.
Xavi played under Luis Enrique in that side. The pair were earlier teammates at the Camp Nou.
Now 44, Xavi played over 500 games for Barca and returned as coach in late 2021. He led Barca to the Spanish title last season, but recently announced he would leave the club at the end of this campaign.
"I have to say that I don't know Xavi at all as a coach, only as a teammate and as a player because I worked with him," added Luis Enrique, who took over at PSG ahead of this season.
"I know Barca very well and I know their players but I don't know if that is an advantage or not.
"Emotionally this means a lot to me because of my experiences there."
- Mutual respect -
Xavi's last season at Barca came under Luis Enrique in that 2014/15 campaign which ended with them winning the Champions League, their most recent success in the competition.
"It was a difficult year to begin with. I knew it was my last year. I hoped it would end well and it turned out being like something out of a film, winning a treble," Xavi said in a press conference just before Barcelona trained at the Parc des Princes.
He described his former boss and now opposite number as "a really great coach".
"I had a very good relationship with Luis, between a coach and captain, full of respect for each other. I look back on it with pride."
Luis Enrique was also the coach of Barcelona in the notorious Champions League last-16 tie between the clubs in 2017, when the Catalans lost 4-0 in the first leg in Paris before recovering to win 6-1 in the return.
He admitted the tie was special for him given his past loyalties, but pointed out he had had no issues coming up against his boyhood club Sporting Gijon as a player.
"I also played against Sporting and scored goals for Barcelona," he said.
"At the end of the day, I am a professional. Of course, I like Barcelona but I am pleased to be here at PSG and I must think about my job and my team. I think I'm capable of bringing trophies to this club."
Recent Stories
Govt to eliminate curse of copy culture from Sindh forever: Minister
England rugby star Billy Vunipola convicted of assault in Mallorca
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Boy suffers burns while extinguishing fire in wheat field
Senate adopts Special Committee's 4 recommendations about Money Bill
Alcaraz passes 'test of fire', Sabalenka survives in Madrid Open
ATC awards punishment for terror accused with 14 year imprisonment
Austrian ambassador calls on Shafay Hussain
US stocks rise on tech outlook as yen rebounds
Forty-day ceasefire offered to Hamas: UK foreign secretary
Mining giants Vale, BHP propose $25 bn settlement over Brazil dam collapse
Aleem announces significant developments for motorway expansion
More Stories From Sports
-
England rugby star Billy Vunipola convicted of assault in Mallorca
46 seconds ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
48 seconds ago -
Alcaraz passes 'test of fire', Sabalenka survives in Madrid Open
4 minutes ago -
Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar win 6th round matches of National Women’s One-Day Tournament
36 minutes ago -
MEPCO, LESCO win Kabaddi matches
36 minutes ago -
A Moroccan club jersey takes market by storm after diplomatic dispute
2 hours ago
-
University of Central Punjab dominates Men's Weightlifting Competition
2 hours ago -
Top Pak athletes to feature in 8th Jiu-Jitsu Asian Championship
3 hours ago -
Naz Club Khalabat clinches trophy in District Volleyball Championship 2024
4 hours ago -
Table Tennis League kicks off
5 hours ago -
Pakistan's Ashab wins Rochester Proam Squash
5 hours ago -
Chief Minister KP to open Inter-Madrasa, Special Games on Tuesday
6 hours ago