Former 1998 World Champion Christophe Dugarry spoke to RMC Sport’s Rothen S’enflamme about Luis Enrique. He had no hesitation in scolding the man he knew at Barcelona, who used to drive him “crazy”. As far as he’s concerned, the way he sees his players is stereotyped and makes everyone feel lost on the pitch.
Dugarry “I knew him at Barça with Van Gaal. I was going crazy”.
“Two hours before the game, he comes up with something. He thinks it’s a computer game, that you’ve got the joystick and you can maneuver the guys any way you want. Because he’s so brilliant and intelligent that guys can do it. I knew him at Barça with Van Gaal. I used to go crazy, and he’d explain to me every time that I could play No. 6.
Dugarry: “At some point, it just doesn’t work”.
That was his thing. And the more catastrophic I was, the more he yelled at me for not being able to play n°6. But at a certain point, I said stop, ‘I’ll stop, you think what you want and I’ll think what I want’. And that’s the problem. When a coach makes you play in positions that you don’t master, that you don’t know, that you don’t understand, there’s a problem. At some point, it just doesn’t work.
Dugarry “When you can’t perform in a position that isn’t yours, where your skills are challenged…”
When you can’t perform in a position that isn’t yours, where your skills are challenged… I’m thinking of Kang-in Lee, the right-back, the left-back, a whole host of players who find themselves forced to swap positions. The two strikers against Bayern Munich (Barcola and Dembélé), who are corridor players, were lost.
Dugarry: “At some point, you have to ask yourself the right questions”.
Right from the start, you can see that the guys are lost. They’re in a kind of stereotyped system, and they have no opportunity to really play their game. (…) A team composition and organization are based on the qualities and weaknesses of your players. You don’t invent qualities they don’t have. If you see Hakimi at centre-forward as your team’s most dangerous player, you shouldn’t be surprised if there’s technical waste and problems with finishing. At some point, you have to ask yourself the right questions.
He’s not the only one who doesn’t like Luis Enrique’s approach. No matter what anyone says, even if the coach is always right, the media may well get the better of him. The climate that’s taking hold is poisonous and proves that PSG can’t build peacefully. There’s always someone to call everything into question. If the club does so, then everyone says it should have done so, and vice versa.
You end up losing your way, because obviously, Luis Enrique is open to criticism. You may not like his approach, but maybe you should give the product a chance.
A priori, Dugarry has never been a good student. He had a good career, but nothing more. Luis Enrique has to follow through with his idea, and if it becomes too complicated for PSG, then decisions will have to be made. For the time being, the “alarming” situation is not totally dramatic.
If Paris qualifies for the Champions League, with a good lead in Ligue 1, we’ll be able to look back on a fairly mediocre first half of the LDC, but everything will be back to square one for the second phase. Assessments are made in the middle and at the end.
