Luis Enrique

mazp

New member
What do you mean he "failed" at Roma? He took a side that finished 6th and finished 7th while introducing a different playing style. Hardly a big failure, even more so considering it was his first job as manager in first division football in a completely alien and difficult environment for him that is Serie A.

With Celta he has taken a side that escaped relegation on the final day of the season last year and finished equal on points with Valencia this season while offloading the world class talent that is Aspas for € 9M to Liverpool and playing beautiful football with the ressources at his disposal.

His achievements with Barca B don't need mentioning.

He doesn't need to show that he can create a "system" or "identity", although he did with Celta this season. Barca already have a non-negotiable style and identity in place. The most important factor is that he knows Barca. From being a player to being a youth coach, he knows this club, its style and everything inside out. On top of that he is leader personality like Puyol. He always put in the effort as a player and he'll do so as a coach.

Your alternative would be?

He's coming to Barca with huge amount of pressure. He will be expected to hit the ground running from the get go. Early slip ups in the league and BCN press will be on him. They won't give him as much time, like they gave Pep. IMO.
 

ebieymjunior

Senior Member
He's coming to Barca with huge amount of pressure. He will be expected to hit the ground running from the get go. Early slip ups in the league and BCN press will be on him. They won't give him as much time, like they gave Pep. IMO.

They didn't give Pep time, it was the same situation, good players but unachieving. Pep had to deal with the press himself when he lost some games in his first year, but he didn't give in to the pressure, and Lucho seems to be even more serene.
 

Richard.H

Senior Member
He certainly does have immense amount of pressure coming into this job. I don't really know how he will handle it.

I certainly hope he has the balls to bench Messi when needed. He needs to send a message to the players that no one is above the team.


Also, I really hope he gives more minutes to the youngsters. I really want to see Rafinha, Bartra, and S.Roberto getting a lot of minutes. I would be incredibly pissed if he uses the same lineup every week. I really loved the tactical versatility under Pep. He was never afraid to try new things and give youngsters chances. Remember how much Pep utilized Cuenca in his last season? Cuenca was an absolute beast at the time.
 
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mazp

New member
They didn't give Pep time, it was the same situation, good players but unachieving. Pep had to deal with the press himself when he lost some games in his first year, but he didn't give in to the pressure, and Lucho seems to be even more serene.

Difference is Pep inherited a group of players who were on the verge of hitting their peak. A foundation which was already laid by Rijkaard and Van Gaal. Lucho has to start from scratch, in a sense, he doesn't have a Messi or Iniesta or Xavi coming into their peak or any B team players ready to take their place either. So, the pressure will be much more intense.
 
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Kohe321

New member
I think it's better that he can come into the team when the board, fans and players all know it needs rebuilding, instead of the team last year where the new coach was given the thankless task of "prolonging" the golden era that the board and many others still thought was in process.

Luis Enrique will get the job of rebuilding the team, and everyone will be open to his ideas as long as they are in accord with the Barca philosophy, which they are. Martinos ideas weren't, and in addition people weren't ready for things to be "shaken up", because too many people with power still thought the winning formula was there still, just underneath the surface somewhere. Right now we're at a real low, our performances haven't been this poor in ages, and the board finally understand that they are responsible. 4 years have slipped without real reinforcement of the squad, there has been an almost criminal neglect of the continuity of the team, and in the meantime legends have become "old" and lost their spark, or even retired, without their positions seeing any true replacement coming in. An era of gold doesn't need to crash and burn like this if it's properly refreshed - sure it'll dip some, but not like this.

I can't wait to see what Enrique can do with fresh new players, and how he can build and implement his take on Barcafootball on the foundation that is Messi, Iniesta, Alba, Busquets, Neymar etc.
 
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ebieymjunior

Senior Member
Difference is Pep inherited a group of players who were on the verge of hitting their peak. A foundation which was already laid by Rijkaard and Van Gaal. Lucho has to start from scratch, in a sense, he doesn't have a Messi or Iniesta or Xavi coming into their peak or any B team players ready to take their place either. So, the pressure will be much more intense.

True, but he has Bartra, Montoya, Rafinha, Roberto, Suarez, Tello and Deulofeu to chose from, plus Messi and Iniesta in their prime. And the fact that they didn't win anything takes the pressure off slightly too.

I think it's better that he can come into the team when the board, fans and players all know needs rebuilding, instead of the team last year where the new coach was given the thankless task of "prolonging" the golden era that the board and many others still thought was in process.

Luis Enrique will get the job of rebuilding the team, and everyone will be open to his ideas as long as they are in accord with the Barca philosophy, which they are. Martinos ideas weren't, and in addition people weren't ready for things to be "shaken up", because too many people with power still thought the winning formula was there still, just underneath the surface somewhere. Right now we're at a real low, our performances haven't been this poor in ages, and the board finally understand that they are responsible. 4 years have slipped without real reinforcement of the squad, there has been an almost criminal neglect of the continuity of the team, and thus legends have have become old and lost their spark, or even retired, without their positions seeing any true replacement coming in. An era of gold doesn't need to crash and burn like this if it's properly refreshed - sure it'll dip some, but not like this.

I can't wait to see what Enrique can do with fresh new players, and where he can build and implement his take on Barcafootball on the foundation that is Messi, Iniesta, Alba, Busquets, Neymar etc.

This basically.
 

La Furia

Legion of Doooom
The jury is still out of his management abilities, but he's shown potential and more importantly is the rare club leader who can keep Xavi and Messi in line without Puyol.
 

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