Ousmane Dembélé, 28 years old, Paris Saint-Germain striker, spoke to FourFourTwo magazine about his special relationship with Luis Enrique. The Spanish coach offered him a central role, based on freedom of movement and leadership, while also asking him to put the team before his own statistics.
Luis Enrique gives me total freedom on the pitch, to interact with my teammates, go a little deeper, stay higher… and the structure adapts to everything. It’s something I appreciate and to which I quickly adapted.” “I have a lot of trust from the coach. He explained to me that I had to be a leader in this team, to set an example, both to the young players and the old ones.”
“He didn’t tell me to be selfish, quite the opposite. He told me that in front of goal, if you can’t shoot and there’s someone better positioned than you, then you have to pass. That’s his vision of things, and that’s what he told me. He repeated it to me. “Of course, he’s happy when I score goals, because a striker, an offensive player, has to score. But he sees things a little differently.” “He doesn’t ask me to be selfish, but to focus on the team, and then the goals will come naturally.”
Ousmane Dembélé’s words reflect a real evolution in his career. Long perceived as an erratic, inconsistent player, and sometimes criticized for his lack of efficiency, the former FC Barcelona player seems to have found a framework at PSG that elevates his game. Luis Enrique doesn’t impose strict tactical rigor on him, but gives him the opportunity to drop down to participate in the build-up, to stay high to stretch the opposing block, or to adapt to his teammates’ movements.
This freedom, combined with a leadership mission, marks an important step in the trajectory of the 2018 world champion. Far from the image of the individualistic winger, Dembélé is now encouraged to embody a model of collective play, where the goal is no longer an obsession, but the natural consequence of working for the team. This speaks volumes about Luis Enrique’s desire to transform his striker into a pillar of his Parisian project.
