Ivan Rakitic (38), the former Croatian midfielder who notably played for FC Barcelona (2014-2020), was well-positioned to speak to Canal+ about coach Luis Enrique, whom he knew for three years at Barça (2014-2017) and who has been at Paris Saint-Germain since 2023. He explains what sets him apart from the Spaniard, who won the Champions League with both clubs.
Rakitic: “His dedication to his work is truly special.”
He’s not just a great coach, he’s a great person. His dedication to his work is truly special, which is why I’m happy and proud to have spent three seasons with him at Barcelona.
What memory do you have of him?
He’s a special person. He’s able to get the full potential out of his players. He understands that it’s not the best players who make the best team. What matters is what the team needs. That’s where he helped me understand what I had to do for his team. It was very different from what I had to do at Sevilla. That’s the quality of a great coach.
How would you describe his method?
I think it’s 100% passion. He wants the team to be perfect in every aspect. When we arrive at the training ground, breakfast… He wants a perfect machine.”
Rakitic “We didn’t want to go on vacation because we felt so strong.”
What was his relationship like with the players?
He understands things very well because you have to realize that in a squad there are more than 20 players, all different. And I think Luis’s greatest quality is that he knows how to approach each player in a different way.
His greatest achievement?
Sometimes, after the rain comes the sunshine. In the 2014-2015 season, we went through a difficult period in December and January. But from then on, we started to really understand each other on and off the pitch, with the staff, with the coach. After the Champions League final in Berlin, we wanted to keep playing. We didn’t want to go on vacation because we felt so strong.
Rakitic: “That’s the difference between the best teams and the great teams.”
What did he ask of the midfielders?
What was very important, It was about forming triangles. For me, Dani Alves and Messi on the right. In the center, there were Busquets, Xavi, and Iniesta. That was the key. And when the automatic movements are in place, it’s like a machine. You know if you need to cover, where your teammate will be.
That’s the difference you see between Paris today and the other teams. All the players inside, they move like machines. When Vitinha goes out, he knows he’ll be covered. They know what they have to do. That’s the difference between the best teams and the great teams.
