Luis Enrique: 100 games as Barça coach

He will claim that it’s just another statistic and that he pays little attention to these details, but tomorrow marks Luis Enrique’s 100th game in charge of the Catalan side. Despite his team claiming five of the six available titles last season with just the Spanish Supercup eluding his grasp and his team in tremendous form this season, it was the slow start to his time at the club that still troubles the Asturian. There was a point during the 2014/15 season where many were calling for his dismissal despite the coach being able to address internal problems and with team the unstoppable from mid-January 2015 onwards.

He had a well-documented falling out with Leo Messi but was able to resolve the fractured relationship. Over time he was also able to manage the diverse personalities in his dressing room. In his 99 matches so far on the Barça bench he has overseen 79 wins, 11 draws and just nine defeats. His side have scored 274 goals with 70 conceded and the overall verdict on the coach is extremely positive making a successful transition from the Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova era followed by the poor showing under Argentine, Gerardo Martino. Luis Enrique’s Barça have played 59 LaLiga games, 19 in the Champions League, 16 Copa del Rey ties along with two games at the club World Cup and another two apiece in the spanish and Euefa Supercup’s respectively.

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“He has a clear vision and always wants to be successful. He’s on the road to repeating last season’s haul of titles and he demands the utmost from his squad”. The words of one of his support staff at the FC Barcelona ‘ Ciutat Esportiva’ upon being asked about the first team coach.