beIN SPORTS

By Andreas Vou (@AndreasVou89)

Standards are always high for any new manager at FC Barcelona where every detail of every game is under heavy scrutiny and immediate success is an absolute necessity. So when Luis Enrique managed to win the treble in his very first campaign, just the second in the club’s history, one would have assumed that he would have earned unanimous hero status across Catalonia.

If only it were that simple. Further to the league, cup and Champions League success, the Asturian boss reinforced his side’s dominance over fierce rivals Real Madrid with a 0-4 win at the Santiago Bernabeu last month, yet Luis Enrique’s name is hardly being sung by all corners of the Camp Nou. So why is it then, that a manager who has achieved so much so quickly still not a fans’ favorite? 

His arrival as manager in the summer of 2014 had been on the cards for some time. Having managed the Barcelona B team to great effect like Pep Guardiola did before he took over the first team, there were high hopes that Enrique would emulate what the Bayern Munich boss achieved in his spell. Setting such expectations from the outset was a recipe for disaster.

Results at the beginning of his reign went well, with seven wins from their opening eight league matches, but brewing grumbles about the team’s style of play rose to the surface after a 3-1 loss in his first Clasico against Real Madrid.

Since that game, there was a growing concern that the team under Enrique was breaking away from the club’s treasured philosophy, one that had been birthed by Johan Cruyff and perfected by Guardiola some 20 years later.

Then came that day in early January when Enrique chose to leave Lionel Messi on the bench away to Real Sociedad, which so nearly proved to be the end of his time at the helm. A subsequent 1-0 defeat was further intensified by the Argentine’s decision not to turn up for an open training session the next day.

Not only had he lost the match, the media and the fans, but he had now lost the most influential figure in the dressing room. The club tried its best to keep a lid on but Enrique’s days were seemingly numbered – it seemed to be a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.

But somehow, he managed to survive the storm and eventually steered the team to the treble in a ruthless second half of the season which defied all odds given the problems around the club at the beginning of the year. 

Even with success, Enrique has yet to become an adored figure. He was frequently vilified for creating a team over-reliant on the forwards and one which only valued results. The 2-1 win over Real Madrid in March was evidence of this, as the manner of the victory, rather than the crucial three points, was highlighted by much of the media - the fact that it took a header from a set-piece for the first and a long ball was proof of Barça’s abandonment of their philosophy under Enrique.

It is this constant conflict of style versus pragmatism which has led to the divide in opinion over Enrique. Guardiola’s Barça reached a level of perfection with the former while the current boss leans heavily in favor of the latter. 

Enrique chooses to play to the team’s strengths which has yearned devastatingly efficient results: he won 42 of his opening 50 matches, a club record which surpassed Helenio Herrera's 40 wins and the 37 Guardiola managed during his first half-century in charge. Albeit in fewer matches, his win ratio of 80.72% eclipses that of the Guardiola (72.47%) which is not to claim superiority, but demonstrates his result-based mentality which, to execute to such a degree, is an art in its own right.

While Guardiola gained complete adoration, there is still nothing of the sort for Enrique, despite his unprecedented success. This is largely down to the fact that the overwhelming majority of fans and journalists wanted the Asturian out earlier this year and few, if any, are now prepared to carry out a drastic u-turn.

There is a tendency in Catalonia to see the glass half-empty. What many forget is that there was a widely held belief towards the end of Guardiola’s era that, for all its ability, the team had become too predictable and needed to find new ways of winning. Enrique has developed a Barça team which can score from corners, on the break and from direct passes, as well as create awe and spectacle for the fans. If Cruyff’s side was christened the ‘Dream Team’, and Guardiola’s the ‘Pep Team’, Enrique’s should be branded the ‘Winning Team’.  

It remains to be seen whether his name rings around the Camp Nou in the future but, for now, the fact that Enrique has stuck to his approach and last season’s critics are now silent speaks volumes in itself.