Luis Enrique:

I've been a Barcelona fan since 2007. Watched them through the Guardiola era, through the transitions, through all of it. I love Hansi Flick, but I think I miss Luis Enrique more!

His first season, he had Messi, Suárez, and Neymar playing together, won the treble, and somehow made it look like it was always supposed to go that way.

Last May, he did it again. PSG beat Inter Milan 5–0 in the Champions League final. Treble number two. Second manager in history to win a treble with two different clubs — the other one being Pep Guardiola.

I don't think that's a coincidence.

But I'm not writing this because of the trophies. I'm writing this because of how he coaches. And because a few things I watched him do changed something about how I run sessions.

His Mentality

Luis Enrique played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona — which, if you know anything about that rivalry, tells you something about who he is. From what I’ve read and gathered online, because I’ve never actually seen him play, he was never the most “gifted player” on the field. He was the guy who competed harder than everyone else and figured out how to make himself useful wherever he landed.

That mentality clearly didn't leave him when he retired. It became his entire coaching identity.

He didn't get the big job straight out of playing. He started with Barcelona B. Then Roma. Then Celta Vigo. Got fired, stepped away from Spain for personal reasons, came back. The guy has been through it. Every time, he came back with more clarity about who he was as a coach.

That arc matters. Enrique has rebuilt himself more than once.

Culture Before Everything

One thing that doesn't get talked about enough with Enrique is how demanding he is — and how that demand comes from a clear set of values, not just a personality.

There's a clip from a Movistar documentary that came out in 2024 where Enrique pulls Mbappé aside — one on one, before the second leg of a Champions League quarterfinal against Barcelona — and goes at him directly about pressing and leadership. He tells him: "I read that you liked Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan would grab his teammates by the balls and defend. You have to set that example first as a person and as a player."

He then lays out exactly what real leadership looks like in his system. Not just scoring goals. Not just being the best player on the pitch. But when you can't affect the game with goals, what are you doing for the team? Are you setting the standard out of possession? Are you dragging your teammates with you?

He tells Mbappé: "A true leader is someone who, when you can't help us with goals, you help us with everything else that matters."

Think about what it takes to say that to the best player in the world — who you also know is leaving at the end of the season. Most coaches avoid that conversation entirely. They manage around the superstar, they protect the relationship, they keep the peace.

Enrique doesn't manage around anyone. He has the conversation, on the record, because the culture he's building matters more than any one player.

PSG won the Champions League the following year — without Mbappé. Make of that what you will.

At PSG, he came in with a roster full of stars and a fan base that had been waiting on a Champions League title for over a decade. A lot of coaches would have played it safe. Kept everyone happy.

He didn't. He made hard decisions on playing time, held players accountable publicly and privately, and built a culture where the team came before any individual. The players bought in. Not all of them immediately, but they did. That's not luck. That's a coach who knows who he is and doesn't apologize for it.

Different Angles

I came across footage of Enrique watching his own training sessions from different angles — elevated positions, wide angles, ground level. He wasn't just coaching from the center of the field. He was studying the session while it was happening.

That stuck with me.

This past winter, during our indoor sessions, I started doing a version of that. I'd step back and watch from the upper deck at the RecPlex (our indoor training field) instead of standing in the middle of everything. Different vantage point. You see things you completely miss when you're inside the drill — spacing issues, who's switching off, who's actually connecting with the group and who's drifting.

It sounds simple. But most people coach from one spot, one angle, every single session (and that’s because most times that’s all we have available to us). However, Enrique doesn't. He's always looking for information the current view isn't giving him.

Xana

In 2019, Luis Enrique's nine-year-old daughter Xana passed away from bone cancer. He had stepped away from the Spain job mid-cycle because of it — and when he came back, nobody really knew what to expect from him emotionally or professionally.

What happened instead was one of the more remarkable runs in coaching history. Spain to the Euro semis. Then PSG. Then two trebles.

I'm not going to pretend I know what that grief looks like. But I do know that when someone loses something that big and still shows up — still competes, still demands, still leads — that tells you everything about their character. After the Champions League win last May, he dedicated it to her.

That kind of resolve is something I pray to have.

What I Take From It

Enrique isn't someone you copy. His personality is too specific, his environment too different from anything most people will ever coach in. But there are things underneath the results worth paying attention to.

He reinvented himself as a player. Then again as a coach. He never settled for one “angle” when a better one was available. He built culture before he chased results. And he kept going through things that would have ended most people.

Until next week — we're going to get into something I've been sitting on for a while. What it actually means to build a training environment that players want to come back to — not because they have to, but because it's the best part of their week. See you Monday.

— Coach Frim