LA LIGA: ENRIQUE FOR BARCELONA

May 19, 2014 9:40:00 PM
The Asturian coach has now been
confirmed as the successor to Gerardo
Martino at Camp Nou for the next two
seasons, but is he the correct choice?
COMMENT
By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer
"The biggest risk we can take is to not take
risks," Pep Guardiola once said. Barcelona
took a chance on the Catalan coach back in
2008 and it paid off handsomely. Six years
on and the Blaugrana have now done
something similar by appointing Luis Enrique
to replace Gerardo Martino this summer. But
is it the right risk?
Martino missed out on La Liga on Saturday
and announced his departure straight
afterwards, having claimed only the Spanish
Supercopa this season. The Argentine had
already said he didn't deserve a second
chance following some lacklustre results in
all competitions in 2013-14. The 51-year-
old also grew tired of constant criticism
concerning the club's playing style over the
course of the season. "If the coach isn't in-
house or Dutch, then there's more debate,"
Martino claimed earlier on this term. But as
he the season drew to a disappointing end,
still it seemed the South American wasn't
entirely in tune with the Catalan club.
That could never be said of Guardiola, who
came through at La Masia and spent the
majority of his career as a player at Camp
Nou. Luis Enrique took a different route,
starting out at Sporting Gijon and even
playing for Real Madrid, but the midfielder's
finest years were spent at Barcelona and he
always said he felt much more identified with
the Blaugrana blueprint.
"I was always a Barca fan," he once said.
"Sporting [Gijon] first and then Barca. I like
my teams to be very attacking. Perhaps
because I always played in attack. There's a
lot of politics in that respect, but it's all a lie
- the merit of a coach is to adapt to the
players he has available."
After retirement, Luis Enrique followed the
footsteps of his former team-mate Guardiola
by coaching Barca B successfully in the
lower leagues, but his first big job ended in
disappointment as he lasted a sole season at
Roma. However, he wasn't given the players
or the time to truly instill his philosophy in
the Italian capital. It was supposed to be a
long-term project, but after an indifferent
debut campaign which brought an overhaul
in the playing style and took time to impress
on the players, he wasn't given the backing
he had been promised and decided to move
on.
Troubled times | Luis Enrique saw his time at
Roma prematurely ended amid an ambitious
project
"Being at Roma with Luis Enrique was a
unique experience," said former Argentina
defender Nicolas Burdisso recently. "We
were surprised by everything we learned
from him. He is a coach prepared for any
kind of challenge."
Challenges don't come much bigger than
Barcelona, especially after the spectacular
success of the Blaugrana in recent years, but
his former team-mate and assistant Ivan de
la Pena insists he is ready.
"Luis Enrique is the ideal coach for Barca,"
he said. "He's the best possible candidate.
Knowing a team like Barca helps so much in
a job like this one. It's not just any club; you
need to know where you are and what is
expected of you. And Luis Enrique knows the
club better than anyone."
The former Spain midfielder spent eight
seasons at Camp Nou, scoring 109 goals in
300 official games. In five years at Madrid
prior to that, he had netted only 18 in 213
appearances and left on a free transfer to
become one of the Blaugrana 's most
important players.
"One of Barca's strengths is their style," he
said while at the club's B team. "The idea for
years has been the same and that's having
the ball. When you don't have it and you're
chasing others, you tire."
Luis Enrique's ideas are similar to
Guardiola's in that respect, with a big
emphasis on fitness and conditioning, while
both men are renowned for their attention to
detail in every single aspect of the job.
"He is a coach who pushes you a lot; he is
very demanding," said Sabadell's former
Barca B midfielder Antonio Longas. And De
La Pena added: "He's an extremely
meticulous coach in terms of planning. He
leaves nothing to chance and gives special
attention to physical conditioning, but also
other vital elements. He loves to study the
individual development of the players to see
how they can give more as the weeks go by."
At Roma, those demands initally brought
problems with star striker Francesco Totti,
while his latest project at Celta took time to
get going and a slow start saw him
questioned again earlier this season. But the
Galician club's remarkable rise in recent
weeks with an attractive brand of attacking
football has caught the imagination of the
club's fans and impressed the Barca board
as well.
With a style slightly more direct than Pep's
passing philosophy and a greater emphasis
on fitness, the 44-year-old will want his
players in tip-top condition now his move
has been confirmed, just a couple of weeks
after a meeting with Barca sporting director
Andoni Zubizarreta at his house in Gava to
discuss a summer move from Vigo to Camp
Nou.
"The stronger you are, the less chance of
getting injured and the more chance of
having a good season," Luis Enrique
explained prior to taking over at Barca B.
It sounds straightforward, yet at Barcelona
this season, even the simple things have
been complicated. However, with his no-
nonsense, back-to-basics and very Barca
blueprint, Luis Enrique looks like ticking
almost all of the boxes for the Catalan club.
"Fasten your seatbelts," Guardiola told the
press at his first press conference. "Because
we are going for a ride." With Luis Enrique,
Barca can expect something similar. He
knows the club, he has played for the first
team, he buys into the footballing philosophy
and his demands meet those of the board
and the fans. It's surely the right risk to take.