Spain begins a new era today under the direction of former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique. After completing seven million passes against Russia without ever moving forward during La Furia Roja’s shock World Cup Round of 16 exit, these are exciting times for the federation with Enrique promising an attractive evolution of the nation’s playing style.
Enrique is a coup for the federation on the back of being named the FIFA World Coach of the Year in 2015 and due to the respect he commands as one of the few footballers to ever successfully bridge the El Clasico divide.
Back in his playing days, Enrique won a LaLiga title and Copa del Rey with Real Madrid while appearing in 157 matches before moving to Barcelona on a free transfer and helping the club to two LaLiga triumphs and two Copa del Rey victories.
He would, of course, go on to a capture a historic treble during his first season as manager at Barca. Although he failed to match that success over the next two seasons, he still captured another league title and two more Copa del Reys before leaving the club with a record of 138 wins, 22 draws and only 21 defeats.
Although this is just a silly video of Enrique’s staff saying hello and introducing themselves to the players, it does give off distinctly Zinedine Zidane-esque vibes — Enrique is a players’ coach.
With Neymar and Messi on the flanks during Enrique’s tenure, Barcelona evolved to a more direct and vertical team than what the Camp Nou had been accustomed to under Pep Guardiola. Spain supporters will certainly be hoping for a bit more directness under Enrique as well.
It’ll be fascinating to watch Spain’s approach under the new boss.
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