Former Spanish National Team Manager Unveiled As New PSG Coach

Luis Enrique, the former manager of Spain’s national men’s football team was unveiled this afternoon, Wednesday, July 5, as the new coach of Paris St Germain.

In a tweet, PSG announced the appointment of the respected tactician: ‘Paris Saint-Germain is delighted to announce that Luis Enrique has been named as its first team’s new head coach, with the Spanish manager signing a two-year contract’.

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Paris Saint-Germain is delighted to announce that Luis Enrique has been named as its first team's new head coach, with the Spanish manager signing a two-year contract. 🔴🔵#WelcomeToParisLuisEnrique https://t.co/gyHvQx9ojO

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) July 5, 2023

In a statement, the club wrote: ‘Luis Enrique Martínez Garcia, 53, joins Paris Saint-Germain with a solid honours list and a magnificent international reputation behind him’.

As a player, Enrique started out with Sporting Gijón, where he played from 1989 until 1992. He subsequently graced the turf at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for four seasons, turning out for Real Madrid until 1996. His final spell as a player was with Barcelona where he played from 1996 through to 2004.

He started out managing the Barcelona B team in 2018

Enrique had his first management job in charge of Barcelona’s ‘B’ team from 2008 to 2011. In his first spell abroad, he moved to Serie A giants AS Roma, where he looked after the Italians between 2011 and 2012.

A short spell back in Spain with Celta Vigo followed before Enrique finally landed the prestigious job of Barcelona coach at the Camp Nou Stadium in 2014.

Enrique won the treble with Barca

During a successful stint with the La Liga giants, Enrique oversaw a trophy-laden period. He won the EUFA Champions League, the Copa del Rey, and the domestic title, to land a historic treble in the 2014–2015 season.

Adding to an already impressive haul, his side went on the win the FIFA Club World Cup along with the Supercopa de España. This was followed by another two Copa del Rey trophies and one more La Liga title before leaving the Catalan club in 2017.

The honour of managing the Spanish national team was bestowed upon him twice. The first time was in July 2018, a position Enrique remained in until June 2019.

He returned to coach La Rioja in November 2019, this time guiding the team to a European Championships semi-final in 2020 and then in 2021, to the final of the UEFA Nations League. In 2015, Luis Enrique was awarded the title of the FIFA World Coach of the Year.

Can he guide PSG to Champions League victory?

He now faces the daunting task of attempting to lead PSG to the final of the Champions League. The club regularly wins the Ligue 1 title but has failed to reach Europe’s most prestigious club final.

With the Paris outfit in transition, he already finds himself without Lionel Messi, who left to play in the MLS with Inter Miami. Neymar appears to be on the verge of rejoining Barcelona, and Kylian Mbappe is involved in a spat with PSG’s owners over his current contract.