He once managed FC Barcelona, and brilliantly too, but now it is PSG who are enjoying the services of Luis Enrique and as fate would have it, those two clubs are about to go head to head in what he expects to be a thrilling Champions League quarter final.
Excited about the chance to make it into the semis, he insists that playing the return leg at Montjuïc isn’t necessarily a bad thing for French interests.
‘I hope everyone can play’
Barça has seven players that are one game away from suspension and would miss the second leg if they get booked on Wednesday. Luis Enrique hopes that doesn’t happen. “If possible, I’d prefer everyone to play, the injured players too” he said in his pre-game press conference on Tuesday.
Asked about Xavi Hernández, he replied that “I know him well as a team-mate and a player, but not as a coach. Having played for and managed Barça I know what the club is like. But I couldn’t say whether that gives me an advantage or not.”
“Our ambition tomorrow is to cope with the pressure. But I don’t know why there is so much pressure on a team that’s never won the Champions League before. Neither do I understand how people can call Barça weak when we are talking about a team that has won the Champions League five times.”
He added that “my decision is already made as to who will replace right back Achraf Hakimi“, who is suspended for this one, and whose natural replacement Nordi Mukiele got injured against Clermont at the weekend.
Danilo Pereira fears Barça individuals
Portuguese midfielder Danilo Pereira represented the playing side of PSG before the media, offering that “we know about their individual talents, but we mustn’t concentrate on any single player like Lamine Yamal.”
He feels that the mood in the team camp is better now than at any point before in the season, and he thinks Luis Enrique has done a fine job at easing the pressure ahead of such a mighty challenge. He adds that that on Wednesday “we need to keep the ball and stop Barça from getting it … Barça have to be considered the favourites because they’ve won this cup five times before, but we are both great teams and I wouldn’t say either is superior to the other.”
