How Luis Enrique Transformed Paris Saint-Germain
By Kris Garo | 4 March, 2025
Many diehard football fans will remember Luis Enrique from his time as head coach of FC Barcelona. In fact, during his three-year stint with the Spanish side, Luis Enrique won nine trophies: two La Ligas, three Copa del Rey, one Spanish Super Cup, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup, and one FIFA Club World Cup (FC Barcelona). What's even more special is what he is currently doing with PSG, who are currently on their way to reaching the UEFA Champions League final for the second time ever in their history. This comes after falling short of winning the cup in 2020 against the German giants of Bayern Munich. This could be PSG’s first-ever Champions League title, which is what makes this run so special. Their performances this season have been brilliant, and the team looks more compact than ever. Point being, we have all come to know Paris Saint Germain’s current head coach, Luis Enrique, as a winner. But what exactly makes him so special, and how has he managed to transform PSG into a powerhouse in European football?
To understand this, we must first take a deep dive into PSG's last few years. PSG’s roster has been fortunate enough to feature some of the best players in the world as of late, with the likes of Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé on their squad. Although they’ve had all these superstars, the team's performances were deemed underwhelming, and the success that they achieved was nowhere near their desired outcome. The superstar trio of Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé failed to progress past the Champions League Round of 16 in their two years together. The team was therefore often associated with having big egos and handing out enormous contracts. Not long after Luis Enrique came in, Neymar and Verratti left. Messi had already committed to Inter Miami, although he might have stayed if he knew Enrique was joining.
Messi, Neymar, and Mbappé together on one team, a powerhouse of talent at PSG.
However, it seems that Luis Enrique has given the team a new epithet, completely different from its past one. One pattern that stands out is Enrique's trust in young talents and his ability to give them opportunities. According to The Independent, Luis Enrique stated that, “From last year and this year we changed our DNA, trying to sign young players with quality...” PSG might have needed their star-driven project to fail before they realized that money alone can't build a team. Instead of chasing after famous names, Luis Enrique has focused on signing and utilizing young, hungry players like Kvaratskhelia, Doue, Barcola, and Joao Neves. Even Dembele, the only big name on the roster, has looked better and more focused than before.
In fact, the latter may be one of the reasons for their success. It seems that Enrique has lit a spark in Dembele that was missing at FC Barcelona. According to the famous football database Transfermarkt, this season, the French star has scored 33 goals and assisted 12 times in 45 appearances, bagging 8 goals and 3 assists in 13 appearances in the Champions League alone. It appears that this trust and experimentation with young players has paid off, potentially becoming one of the key factors behind the team's success.
Ousmane Dembélé's stellar form this season has been crucial to PSG's success.
Looking at Luis Enrique’s coaching style as a whole, it’s easy to understand why PSG is thriving under his leadership. His teams are known for pressing aggressively, maintaining compact tactical shape, and playing with vertical urgency. At Spain and Barcelona, Enrique emphasized width, positional discipline, and the ability to adapt shapes mid-game without disorganizing players. These principles now define PSG’s identity. Unlike previous PSG sides that often relied on individual brilliance, Enrique demands total team defense. That viral moment last year where he told Kylian Mbappé to defend and press throughout the whole game captures his methodology as well as his ability to communicate as a leader. He explains to Mbappé that although he is a phenomenon, scoring goals “is not enough for me” as he explains that “a true leader is someone who, when he can’t help us with the goals… can help us in all defensive aspects.” This perfectly reflects Enrique’s no-excuses mentality.
Enrique giving an individual lesson to Mbappe about the importance of defending.
According to the website Coaches' Voice, which analyzes coaches' tactical profiles, Enrique expects his wingers to press opposing center-backs, his striker to cut off passing lanes, and his midfielders to track deep if needed. This intensity, combined with players like Barcola and Vitinha who fit this dynamic, has turned PSG into a more balanced and dangerous team. Instead of passively pressing like PSG sides of the past, Enrique pins his opponents down and recovers the ball quickly. Ultimately, Enrique’s success at PSG comes from shifting the focus from superstars to systems, and from status to effort – a key principle we can all learn from.
Considering the aforementioned factors, it’s clear that Enrique has given PSG a real identity which is something they’ve lacked for years. The pressing, the structure, the way every player has a role is a big shift from the free-flowing but disorganized teams of the past. Players like Barcola, Zaïre-Emery, and even Dembele are buying into his system that emphasizes pressing, discipline, and fluid attacking transitions, which is a philosophy that we've seen from Enrique with both Spain and Barcelona. For once, PSG isn’t just relying on individual brilliance; instead, they’re functioning like a proper team. So now the real question is: can Luis Enrique be the one to finally take PSG all the way and win their first Champions League?
I believe that this year PSG will win the Champions League. Not only is their football tactically sharp and consistently entertaining, with fast-flowing attacks, beautiful goals, and stellar performances, but what really stands out to me is their chemistry. For the first time in years, the players genuinely look like they enjoy playing together. They celebrate as a group, support one another, and there’s a real sense of unity and joy on the pitch that was missing in the past. Personally, I’ve always admired Luis Enrique as a coach. Growing up, I watched him lead Barcelona with passion and intensity, something that still shines through today in his sideline expressions and gestures; he looks like he’s living every second of the match. What convinces me even more is that while skeptics used to point out that his success at Barcelona was only due to having legends like Messi, Neymar, Iniesta, Busquets, and Suárez, what he’s doing now at PSG proves his coaching brilliance. He doesn’t have the same level of individual superstars, yet the team is performing at a world-class level. That, to me, is the clearest sign they could go all the way this year.
