Luis Enrique defends World Cup Twitch streaming sessions
The former Spain coach was criticised for his mid-tournament Twitch streams, appearing alongside Spanish streamer Ibai Llanos.
Spain parted company with head coach Luis Enrique after the side’s disappointing World Cup exit at the hands of Morocco. The former Barcelona coach had led the team to an impressive semi-final appearance at the previous European Championships but he stepped down after four years at the helm.
During the tournament Enrique held daily streaming sessions on Twitch in which he sought to communicate directly with Spanish supporters. He gained more than 700,000 followers on the streaming platform but his unconventional approach to mid-tournament communications was not popular with all journalists.
Throughout the tournament he held one-hour streaming sessions every evening in which he would discuss elements of his side’s play with interested supporters. The conversations even strayed into everything from geography and youth coaching to how he likes his eggs.
But in an interview with Spanish radio station SER Deportivos Gijón, Enrique has insisted that his use of Twitch helped foster a bond between the nation and its national team.
“Thanks to the streaming sessions during the World Cup we were able to receive the love of the fans, both the players and me. What the media say is one thing and reality is another, the streaming sessions served to unite players and fans.”
“It was a very positive experiment,” he added.
In recent days the 52-year-old has been linked with the manager’s position at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur following the dismissal of Antonio Conte. Enrique said that he is “very proud” of his time in charge of Spain and signalled that he would be interested in a move to the Premier League if the right job presented itself.
“I follow English football a lot, more than Spanish,” he added. “But I’m not going to go to any team. I would like to go to one that has the potential to do important things and that reduces the number to very few.”