LUIS ENRIQUE
How will it feel to manage Spain at your first major international tournament this summer at the Euros? It makes me very proud to lead Spain at a European Championship. As a player I went to three World Cups, a European Championship and the Olympics. Spain are clearly one of the favourites but there are eight teams that can win it. It means a lot to me to have a challenge as attractive as this. Seven games to be champions. We know how hard it will be but we’re all really looking forward to it. Do you know your first-choice starting XI yet or are there places still up for grabs? I would love to have a starting XI that everyone could reel off from memory but that’s not the situation we’re in at the moment. Are you confident Spain can go all the way and win the European Championship for the fourth time in its history? The Spanish supporters have reason to be excited. Qualification was brilliant. The line that separates winning and losing is so fine, and all the more so in tournaments like this one, which isn’t a league where the best team wins over 38 games. Luck is a factor
in tournaments. Lots of different things have to come together for it to fall our way and there is a lot for us to work on. Will you be able to adapt your philosophy and style of play during the tournament if necessary? A style can evolve without having to change it or touch it. I proved that at Barcelona. We’re going to continue with the same style, don’t doubt that for a minute, but there will be nuances. Thanks to Luis Aragones [Spain’s Euro 2008-winning coach], Spain found itself, who we are. We’re talented players, not physically strong ones. We’re clever and sharp. How do you react to some of the criticism you have received in the past, particularly concerning your origins? I am not going to talk about politics, but I think it’s the first time that someone from Gijon has been accused [of not feeling Spanish]. They must not know who Pelayo was! I feel Gijones, Asturian, Spanish and also Catalan. I might not be the friendliest guy in the world, but I don’t think that’s important and I am close to my players; that’s something I like to do. I would go and eat with any of you from the press, if you’re paying – but make it an expensive restaurant! I am not someone to call players a lot. I called one, because it was a wrong number: Jesus Navas. I thought he was taking the Mick when I heard his voice! I said sorry, but it was nice to talk to him. Sid Lowe