On Sunday, as part of Matchday 17 of Ligue 1 2024-2025, Paris Saint-Germain (1st) take on Saint-Etienne (15th) at the Parc des Princes (kick-off 8:45pm, broadcast on DAZN). On the eve of the match, Paris coach Luis Enrique answered a number of questions at a press conference.
Luis Enrique: “Well, everything’s in order individually and collectively”.
How would you describe Nuno Mendes’ first half of the season? Are you counting on him for the future?
Hello everyone. Well, everything’s in order individually and collectively. I’m not just talking about one player in particular. I’d rather talk in general terms, and everything’s looking good in training, and I’m enjoying it more and more every day.
Dembelé’s contrasting start to the season? Do you have a wish for 2025?
No, I have no particular wish. You said 15 goals. I’m happy with what I see, I’m happy to generate competition, I’m happy to see them always trying to improve and keep trying. Not much more.
Luis Enrique: “They need to do things right”.
Dembélé spoke of the Champions League match as being very important and on everyone’s mind. How do you handle Manchester City with the deadlines that come before?
I don’t know if he said that. Things that are said in the media are always complicated to analyze. We base ourselves on what we know about Paris-Saint-Germain, and we prepare well for each match. The only important thing is the match against Saint-Étienne. It’s a match we have to prepare for like a Champions League game, and that’s the great thing about our team, at least as long as I’ve been here. Whether we’re playing at home or away, we want to play under the same conditions.
What’s going to happen in a few weeks’ time is more like words or phrases, clichés. Tomorrow, the only important match for us, the one we want to control, is Saint-Étienne. They need to do things right. Par tes princes is an ideal showcase for that, and we need to improve our performance to prepare ourselves for the future.
Where do you expect your team to improve?
In all aspects of the game. Offensively, defensively.
Luis Enrique “When the press speaks very highly of a player, I bring him down a bit”.
How would you judge Doué’s start to the season?
The comment I’m about to make applies to all the players in the squad. When they score goals, you put them on a pedestal and I bring them down a bit. When you push them down, I push them back up. That’s the game. We don’t want to depend on one or two or three players. We want to see ourselves as a collective and be competitive in all competitions.
I know it doesn’t sell jerseys or newspaper headlines, but there’s nothing more beautiful than being part of the soccer team and feeling important in the team. When the press speaks very highly of a player, I bring him down a little. Barcola, for example, you push him down a bit, even though I find him interesting. That’s what soccer’s all about, managing a team.
With strikers and goalkeepers or with a good midfield?
Normally, the one who wins them is the one who scores the most.
Luis Enrique: “For me, contracts are just wet paper”.
Are you weakened by your extension, which has still not been made official? How do you feel about Luis Campos’ extension?
I’m very happy about that. For me, contracts are like wet paper. I have no problem signing one-week contracts. I need to feel good about what I’m doing. I feel important here. The club has made me feel that way from the start, and so has the sporting director. If one day tomorrow the club doesn’t want me, I’ll leave.
That’s how I live my professional career afterwards, whether I’ve signed or not, whether we’ve talked about it, it’s something that doesn’t interest me at all. What interests me is enjoying every day as coach of Paris Saint-Germain. It’s a very attractive project for me, but also for the club. That’s what the club is passing on to me.
Luis Enrique “We want to help the team and our players find solutions to these problems”.
Is the team capable of meeting all the requirements you expect?
I really like the Casa de papel metaphor. I think that since we arrived here, we’ve been adapting to what our opponents are doing. But we still carry the full weight of the match. We’ve got the ball, and that’s the key to every match.
What the opponent does and where we find the space, whether he presses or not, whether he pulls back more or less intensely, these are factors we try to work on. We want to help the team and our players find solutions to these problems. That’s the key to soccer, to constantly find your opponent’s weak point, that’s the objective.
How do you keep your players focused and motivated in the face of the schedule?
There are some games where you don’t need to be there almost. I’m talking in terms of motivation. In the Champions League it’s easy. You have to be there to lower the general mood. Right now, we’re in the best moment of the season, compared to training last week. There are plenty of players who can play as regulars. That means there’s a lot of competitiveness in the squad.
Either you motivate yourself or someone else gets ahead of you. The way I see the competition, that’s what’s really positive. After that, we’ll have to wait for the results, but I’m very happy with what I’ve seen over the last few weeks.
Luis Enrique: “My decisions speak louder than I do”.
Do you feel any pressure ahead of Manchester City?
No, I don’t feel any pressure.
Asensio, what’s his day-to-day progress like? Can we have more information on his absences?
No, my decisions speak louder than I do. I can make up answers here, create a scenario, invent answers, but that’s not possible. Decisions speak louder and say what I think. I see things in training, and some people don’t agree, but as that’s my role as a coach, I always say that there’s no irreversible situation. Today it’s like that and I don’t have to explain anything.
Luis Enrique: “If a player is a specialist in a single position and performs very well, that’s very interesting too”.
Do you like to recruit players who can play in several positions? Isn’t that a way of saying that when you buy two players, you’ve really bought four when they’re versatile?
Of course, every time you have an opportunity to use players in different positions, it’s positive. Of course, if a player is a specialist in a single position and performs very well, that’s very interesting too. Since we arrived last year, I think there are a lot of players who can play in different positions at a high level. That’s something I see as very positive.
I can change the formation for 30 minutes, without bringing in new players, and I can develop game situations, mobility and improve our virtues. I can do it without changing any players on the pitch, and that’s very positive. We’re going to continue along the same lines.
Luis Enrique “I think it’s more positive for me and the team to face everything with a very positive point of view”
The most dangerous month of the year?
Let’s find out. There are 6 games in January and in all competitions, it’s important. If we don’t win the French Cup, we’re out. If we don’t win 3 or 4 points in the Champions League, we’re out. If we lose 4 matches in Ligue 1, we’ll no longer be first. Me, I always think the other way round, I see a team that’s very good in competition, that’s what we’ve been doing since the start of the season, and I don’t see why I should be negative.
I think it’s more positive for me and the team to face everything with a very positive outlook and be convinced that we’re going to continue in all the competitions. We want to go all the way in every one. That’s our objective.
Will Marquinhos be available tomorrow?
No, he won’t be able to play.
