Mark Bosnich saluted Luis Enrique’s incredible resilience and spirit after piloting Paris Saint-Germain to their second Champions League final on Thursday (AEST).
PSG beat Arsenal 2-1 in Paris for a 3-1 semi-final aggregate win and will start favourites against Inter Milan in Munich on June 1 (AEST).
The glamour club have never won the Champions League despite previously boasting the sport’s biggest names including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
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Bayern Munich beat PSG 1-0 in the 2020 decider but Paris manager Enrique – the former Spain star – already has a Champions League title on his coaching CV, having led Barcelona to glory in 2015.
“Luis Enrique, special mention because for those who don’t know, he obviously went through some personal tragedy, and for him to come back and to achieve this with all that going on behind the scenes,” Bosnich said on Stan Sport.
“But not only that, to have to manage the departure of Kylian Mbappe, who was like a son of France. He was meeting the president of France to get him to stay there.
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Luis Enrique acknowledges the fans at fulltime. Getty
“To manage that as a foreigner in France, that he’s (Mbappe) going to go to Real Madrid, and also keep this team, not only challenging, but up into situations like this is an absolutely amazing job.”
The personal tragedy Bosnich referenced was the heartbreaking death of Enrique’s daughter in 2019.
Xana was nine years old and succumbed to an aggressive and rare form of bone cancer.
Luis Enrique celebrates with daughter Xana at Olympiastadion in 2015. Getty
“Bozza is so right about the personal tragedy in his life,” Mark Pougatch said on Stan Sport.
“And to see him so joyous, to see his team so expressive in the way they played and the way they countered, you can only be happy for them.”
Enrique spoke beautifully about Xana in a documentary for Zoomsport.
Luis Enrique and his daughter Xana Martinez attend the Copa del Rey final in 2017. Getty
“Her body is gone but she hasn’t died. She’s still with us,” he said.
“Physically, she may not be here, but spiritually she is. Because every day we talk about her, we laugh, and we remember because I think Xana still sees us.”
Enrique did not fill the the big hole left by Mbappe with yet another superstar.
Luis Enrique celebrates at fulltime at Parc des Princes. Getty
It was a major change and the club’s new approach allowed him to build a rejuvenated, rock solid side playing some of the best football in Europe.
“I said from the first day that our goal was to work hard enough to be in a position to make history – and that remains our goal,” Enrique said.
“To be the first to win the long awaited trophy. This is a project that has evolved since last year, and I feel very comfortable here as a coach because I have the freedom and support from the president to build what we want, adapting to the market to put together a team that improves every day.”
Fabian Ruiz of Paris Saint-Germain celebrates after scoring with Achraf Hakimi and Joao Neves. Getty
PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi told CBS Sports about the new approach.
“We believe in our coach and we believe in our players – in our talented, young, hungry players,” al-Khelaifi said.
“They fight for the team, they die for the jersey, that’s the most important, for the city, for the club. There’s still one match to go… we are not done.”
– with AP