Bradley Barcola, the 22-year-old winger, opened up in a lengthy interview with Le Parisien. He spoke of Luis Enrique, who talks to him a lot and gives him great confidence on the pitch. He explains how his coach opened his eyes to the importance of defending well.
Barcola “ When you arrive at such a big club, it always takes a little time to let go 100%”
“To progress here in Paris and as a striker, you can count on Luis Enrique. What advice has he given you that you’ll keep in mind?
To play freely. When you arrive at such a big club, you always need a bit of time to let yourself go 100%. That was the very first advice he gave me. I still remember, when I started for the first time against Marseille, he told me to play the way I know how, without getting carried away, and that’s what he still asks me to do. He talks to me a lot, whether I’m doing well or not, and he’s always there to give us advice. He never lets us down, and that gives me a lot of confidence.
Barcola “ I started defending less, and he didn’t like that as much”.
In the Movistar documentary, we see him taking time out to talk to certain players. Do you have any special moments when he can offer advice?
This season, we focused more on the defensive aspect. I started defending less, and he didn’t like that. We must have seen each other two or three times, and it’s really interesting. On the match, you don’t realize the little efforts you can make for the team, but which can optimize performance.
Barcola “ I’ve added it to my palette”.
Defensive work is one of the qualities you were emphasizing last season. Why are you defending less?
Actually, I did it without realizing it. When the coach would catch me at the end of games, I’d say to myself, “He’s exaggerating, I defended there, it’s not possible.” But seeing it on video made me realize that he was totally right. I added it to my palette and even in Saturday’s match against Lens, I made a lot of effort.”
Defending is important for Luis Enrique, as it keeps the team balanced. His aim is to keep the structure intact between the moment when the team doesn’t have the ball and the moment when they get it back.
To achieve this, the players have to make the effort. Barcola is well aware of this, and it’s important to participate in the collective effort to fluidify the relationship between defending, recovering the ball and attacking. The more intense the pressing, the faster and higher the team recovers the ball, the more it’s possible for the forwards to get forward.
Defending means giving yourself the means to have more attacking situations, and that’s very important for a striker. Barcola understands this, and the result is really good things on the pitch, where everyone feels involved in the same tasks. Defend all together, attack all together – that’s Luis Enrique’s motto.
