Enrique may have lost his job in France
OF COURSE it is not the end of Barcelona, despite the headlines yesterday in the Spanish press.
Barca are winners of four Champions Leagues in the last eight and currently one point from the top of La Liga. But the 4-0 drubbing by PSG at the Parc de Princes on Tuesday night in the first leg of their round of 16 tie is the beginning of the end for coach Luis Enrique.
The former Barcelona player will not be offered a new contract at the end of the season and may not even see out his current deal after having to be restrained in a bust-up after the game.
Enrique was riled by the “tone” of his Spanish inquisitor, TV3’s Jordi Grau. “I’m responsible for this so don’t look for anyone else to blame,” he said. “But I don’t like the tone and I would have liked the same treatment all the times we have won that I am getting tonight when we haven’t.”
Then, according to another reporter, the Barcelona coach tried to take things further once the camera had stopped rolling.
“Three people had to hold Luis Enrique back because he was going for Jordi again,” said Atresmedia reporter Susana Guasch. This is not the first Champions League embarrassment Barcelona have suffered since Pep Guardiola left them. In his only season in charge, replacement Tito Vilanova suffered a 7-0 aggregate defeat by Bayern Munich. He had at least tried to continue the open style developed by Guardiola – much of the antagonism Enrique experienced in the aftermath of the PSG defeat was frustration at the more prosaic football Nou Camp followers have had to accept this season.
Even Lionel Messi was a peripheral figure on Tuesday.
It is 14 years since Louis van Gaal became the last Barca coach to lose his job mid-season. The chances are Enrique will see out his tenure. But a few CVs are being dusted off ahead of the summer. Despite Tuesday’s result, this remains one of the greatest managerial
jobs in Europe. DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS: Enrique at the end of the 4-0 defeat