Luis Enrique, coach of Paris Saint-Germain since the summer of 2023 after a spell at FC Barcelona and as Spain coach, is in a more difficult period, with no wins this week: a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League and a 1-1 draw with Nice in Ligue 1. So the media are focusing on the negative. Like Djamel, who, following on from L’Equipe a short while ago, refers to playing instructions that are not going down well with the players.
Les plans de jeu de Lucho commencent à irriter beaucoup de joueurs.
L’an dernier, Kylian n’appliquait pas vraiment les consignes imposées par le coach, donc les joueurs avaient plus de liberté sur le terrain.
En revanche, cette saison, il est intransigeant sur ce qu’il… pic.twitter.com/euZarPqnnj
— Djamel (@Djaameel_) October 7, 2024
” Lucho’s game plans are starting to irritate a lot of players.”
Last year, Kylian didn’t really apply the instructions imposed by the coach, so the players had more freedom on the pitch.
This season, on the other hand, he is adamant about what he expects of the players in every position, and several players in the squad are feeling restricted…
For example, he asks very specific things of the attacking players, which leaves less room for freedom. If the instructions are not respected, the players are directly reprimanded, whether in the dressing room or during video work.
“However, several players in the squad feel that the team is far more dangerous when the game plan is not respected.
For example, he doesn’t want the forwards to go deep, so we have attackers who are used against the grain…
However, several players in the squad believe that the team is far more dangerous when the game plan is not respected and the attacking players take advantage of depth and freedom.
The problem? Lucho doesn’t want a game of transitions, and absolutely wants a game of possession, regardless of the opponent.
The fact that the attacking players don’t take the ball deep is due to Lucho’s instructions.”
Luis Enrique is used to drawing criticism from the press for his outspokenness and tactics. In any case, that’s the life of top-level soccer as soon as things start to go wrong. So it’s no surprise here.
It’s all the same tiring, with waves of questioning and negative elements when the result is a little less good. And that’s putting aside the praise of previous weeks, when PSG were winning (and winning big).
We were then entitled to articles explaining why Luis Enrique’s management was working and the tactical strengths of his squad. From then on, possession became a problem, and players were forbidden to go deep.
Yet they do it, and goals come that way. It’s hard to believe that the Parisian coach’s anger is not exaggerated. You have to move forward at some point to score, and the coach wants his team to score goals.
This should not be confused with the desire to control a match (depending on the situation and the opponent). Which can sometimes mean not going forwards straight away.
In any case, we’re more interested in seeing the season move forward, with the project continuing to take shape, without putting down a coach after a match that was dominated but lacking in effectiveness.
