When Luis Enrique was able to coach Atlético Madrid and Simeone appeared at PSG | Football | Sport

The duel between Luis Enrique and Diego Pablo Simeone tonight at the Parc des Princes in Paris (21:00, Movistar LC) has a point of soreness that goes beyond a confrontation of opposing styles or problems that both seek to solve in order to improve their skills. teams. Luis Enrique may have been Atlético’s coach before Simeone’s arrival, and he arrived for PSG in the summer of 2016 when doubts were raised about his continuity at the red and white club after losing to Real Madrid in the final penalty shootout in Milan. .

Luis Enrique promised Miguel Angel Gil Marin and Jose Luis Perez Caminero at his home in Barcelona to sign a contract with Atlético Madrid if Roma were not finally acquired by American tycoon James Pallotta, to whom the Asturian coach had previously given his word. Pallotta bought Roma and Luis Enrique carried out what was agreed. “It’s true, it was about not breaking your word. They were lucky to find Simeone because I wouldn’t have been there for half the years and I wouldn’t have had that energy. “Atlético have found in Simeone the best coach they could have, and this has been demonstrated in his career,” Luis Enrique admitted yesterday. “We agreed on a lot of things as coaches. The best coach, without a doubt. And I admire a coach who has worked for a big club for so many years. I know the challenges that this entails in terms of energy, I know the challenges that it entails in convincing your players. When you have been here for so many years, you can only be a top coach,” continued Luis Enrique.

This decision by Luis Enrique disheartened Gil Marin, who left Caminero with the option of hiring a coach for the 11–12 season. Atlético’s then sporting director favored the return of Gregorio Manzano, who was sacked in December, for Simeone to join Atlético. The Argentine coach’s successful run led to him being in PSG’s orbit in 2014, when Cholo won the league title and led Atlético to the Champions League final in Lisbon, also losing to their arch-rivals. However, it was in 2016 that an offer from the Parisian club was leaked, which Simeone described with irony after he decided to stay at Atlético. “I had 35 million reasons to leave,” he said in an interview with the newspaper As. Yesterday, Simeone with a dry “no” denied the existence of an offer from PSG. This was also not publicly acknowledged in the Parisian club, but in the corridors of the sports club it was claimed that the commissions also “placed Natalia,” Cholo’s sister and representative, at home. This was stated by his wife Carla Pereira. Informal

which have never been denied. “Diego received very important offers. “Paris Saint-Germain paid him twice what he signed for Atlético.”

Now in his second season at PSG, Luis Enrique is busy rebuilding the team after the departure of Kylian Mbappe, while Simeone is trying to overcome a crisis of performance and results that has Atlético Madrid ten points behind Barcelona in the league. and this in the Champions League led them to a record one win and two painful defeats to Benfica (4-0) and Lille (1-3).

End of documentary You have no ideabroadcast by Movistar, includes a thesis that Luis Enrique already defended when he led the Spanish national team. “I prefer a team to a striker who scores 40 goals,” he said. After Mbappe’s escape, Luis Enrique admitted that PSG did not press as hard as he would have liked. He assumed the French star would not sacrifice himself to win the ball back in exchange for his goal contribution. He now controls the entire team, which consists of a large number of young players such as Barcola, Zaire-Emery, Pacho, Vitinha and Joao Neves. The latter, signed this summer from Benfica for 60 million euros, supports PSG’s new personnel policy. Transfer costs remain high, but Portuguese sporting director Luis Campos has to look to the market for young talent that is easier to develop. With the help of Luis Enrique, PSG intends to close the door to the manic project that united Messi, Neymar and Mbappe. The average age of Luis Enrique’s players in this Champions League is between 22 and 23 years old, the lowest in the competition. Without Mbappe, Luis Enrique has repeatedly admitted that he would like to see players wear headphones and control them from the stands, as is the case in the NFL. Statistics say that without Mbappe, PSG averages more goals per game (2.38 vs. 2.34) and scores more goals (19 vs. 16).

Tonight without the suspended Jimenez and without the injured Le Norman. Simeone and his players will measure the collective strength that Luis Enrique intends to impose without Mbappe.