Jupp Heynckes, Bayern Munich legend and architect of the historic 2013 treble, spoke to L’Équipe about Paris Saint-Germain’s transformation under Luis Enrique. The former German coach, renowned for his tactical rigor, highlighted PSG’s collective evolution, in particular the defensive work carried out by their forwards. This outside view, shared by other big names in German soccer, illustrates the growing respect for the Parisian project, long criticized across the Rhine for its star policy.
Heynckes “This club forms a well-oiled collective, a kind of steamroller that’s hard to beat”.
“They’re an unpredictable team! Luis Enrique’s greatest achievement is to have instilled in his men the importance of defensive withdrawal when they lose the ball, something we’d never seen before and which was the key to our triumph at Wembley (in 2013), with Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben running all over the pitch.
It’s similar to what Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are doing today. This club forms a well-oiled collective, a kind of steamroller that’s hard to beat.”
This radical change, applauded by the likes of Michael Ballack and Lothar Matthäus, puts PSG back at the heart of the European game, no longer as a sum of individualities, but as a feared collective. The club from the capital, which will contest the Champions League final in Munich, now embodies a collective force that is winning over even the most sceptical of German players, proof of the success of Luis Enrique’s project.
