Since Luis Enrique’s arrival in the summer of 2023, Paris Saint-Germain’s 22-year-old full-back Nuno Mendes has been one of the players to have made the most progress. Speaking on RMC‘s program Rothen s’enflamme, he spoke of the team’s progress, as well as his own under the Spanish tactician.
Mendes “If my teammate isn’t there, I have to be ready to anticipate.”
Collectively, do you feel stronger? Is this the area in which you’ve made the most progress with Luis Enrique?
“Yes, we’ve improved in a lot of areas. The coach is doing a good job. We always try to… We know how to play soccer, we know how to do good things on the pitch, but the coach gives us things to do on the pitch that make a lot of difference.
For example, our mobility is something we’ve been working on for a long time, because at the start of the season, last year, we weren’t very good in that area.
Today, we’re a more complete team in this way of playing and I think we’re still trying to do different things, but mobility for us and the coach is essential for our team.
Mendes “I think speed is my strong point.”
Do you see yourself as a complete player?
“No, I’m not complete! I have the opportunity to have a lot of speed because it supports me a lot, there are a lot of players who know how I play. My strong point is speed. With speed, I can do other things I’m not so good at. I think speed is my strong point.”
Running a lot is also your strong point…
“Yes, but you have to manage the moments of the match well. For us, it’s a bit easy, because we try to keep the ball, play with the ball, defend with the ball. So that gives us a bit of time to recover, attack and defend.
Mendes “In important matches, in championship matches, I like to be there, to be present.”
You had a reputation for being injured a lot: how do you explain this metamorphosis?
“It’s a bit of everything, a bit of me. I try to play every game, I try to play well, to be there at every game. The coach knows I can’t play every game, because I was injured not long ago. You have to manage.
It’s up to the coach, the technical and medical staff, me too… we always try to get the right answers so that I can play every game I can. So the important games, the championship games, I like to be there, present.”
Nuno Mendes is currently considered one of the best in his position. He still has plenty of room for improvement, and his performances in both the league and the Champions League have been outstanding. His style of play and mentality are also perfectly in tune with the demands of his coach Luis Enrique. If he has progressed so much under his command, it’s because it’s no coincidence.
Of course, he still has a lot of work to do, firstly to maintain this consistency over several seasons, and secondly to iron out some of his shortcomings. But overall, we can only be satisfied with Nuno Mendes’ performance.
He is one of the pillars of the Spanish tactician’s squad. And it’s easier to approach a Champions League match with Nuno Mendes at 100%, who can make a difference both defensively and offensively.
