It is not often that Luis Enrique surprises in a press conference, given that those who know him are aware of his capacity for strong and challenging statements, but few expected to support his own work in comparison with that of the current Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez so strong forward. of their encounter in the field.
The Asturian coach was asked if his Barcelona team represented the style of play sought by the Catalan club better than that of Xavi Hernandez, to which he replied that objectively implemented that style better than Xavi. It could of course just be to give the press something to talk about, but AS Diary say it goes back further.
They say the relationship between the two was not frosty when Luis Enrique took charge of Barcelona and relegated Xavi to a largely bench role, but there was certainly tension at points. The older one said “stay if you like but don't get in my way (don't touch my balls)”.
Xavi: “Both coaches are looking for the same thing, we have Barça's DNA. I can say that only Luis Enrique, Pep Guardiola, Arteta and I can boast of having it.
— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 9, 2024
“Lucho” was heavily questioned during his time as Barcelona manager for the style of play he put in place, with some saying it was too vertical to be considered true to his methodology. When Barcelona went to Juventus in his last year in charge, Andres Iniesta even explained that Barcelona “missed football”, something that hurt the Asturian – although it had little to do with Xavi, who was in Qatar for two years.
However, it makes sense on some level that Luis Enrique, who has never hidden his disdain for the press, wants to make the case that his team played more “Barcelona-style” football than Xavi's, given the question which he faced. Undoubtedly over the course of Xavi's tenure, his team has only produced fluid football in bits and burts, but it hasn't faced the same scrutiny as Luis Enrique done That said, Barcelona is in a very different situation, with far fewer resources to work with.
