A coaching great? Luis Enrique has PSG on brink of another Champions League final
Luis Enrique is hoping to lead Paris Saint-Germain to a second straight Champions League final (Franck FIFE) Luis Enrique will join a select group of coaching greats if he leads Paris Saint-Germain to Champions League glory again this season, and it is his remarkable management that has the French club tantalisingly close to reaching the final once again. PSG head to Munich for the second leg of their semi-final against Bayern on Wednesday defending a 5-4 lead from an incredible first meeting which was one of the greatest matches in the competition's history. "It was the best game I have been fortunate enough to be involved in as a coach," Luis Enrique said after that encounter at the Parc des Princes.
He nevertheless believes his side will need to score another three goals at the Allianz Arena in order to see off the German champions and secure a place in the May 30 final in Budapest. But he and his side need not look too far back for inspiration –- their last visit to Munich ended in PSG hammering Inter Milan 5-0 in last season's final as they won the Champions League for the first time in their history. Maybe, after all he has achieved in his career, Luis Enrique could have simply walked away following that triumph, his job done.
But his motivation has remained intact this season. "Last season we achieved the objective that everyone around us had been dreaming of. But we want to continue making history and that now means winning two Champions Leagues in a row," said the Spaniard on the eve of this campaign.
He has now taken PSG to the Champions League semi-finals for the third time in as many seasons since being appointed in 2023. Thanks to him, PSG have moved on in spectacular fashion from the era of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Neymar, and of regular European disappointments. To put their consistency under Luis Enrique into more context: before his arrival, PSG had reached the Champions League semi-finals three times in their history.
His success seems to come down to that motivation, and an intensity of personality which comes across in the way his team plays -– high energy, incessant pressing, terrifying pace. "He is the most positive person I have met in my life. He is always motivated and always in a good mood.