In recent days, Luis Enrique has been in the spotlight with his decision to dismiss Ousmane Dembélé or his post-match reaction which caused controversy against Arsenal. Ivan Rakitic, who knew him at FC Barcelona, spoke about his management style.
After a frank discussion with Ousmane Dembélé following the victory of PSG
against the Stade Rennais (3-1), Luis Enrique had decided to exclude the French international from the trip to Arsenal. The latter apologized to his coach on Wednesday and returned to training with the capital club on Friday evening, two days before the trip to
Nice at the end of the seventh day of
Ligue 1. With the episode aroundOusmane Dembélécriticism has fallen on the Spanish coach, in particular on his rigidity and the fact that he leaves too little space for freedom to creative people. Ivan
Rakiticwho rubbed shoulders with him at FC Barcelone
from 2014 to 2017, insisted on defending it.
“He will always help you to be a better player”
« At times it can be complicated because he gives 100% and fundamentally believes in his ideas. He will always help you to be a better player. Once you understand how it works, it can take you to the toplaunches the Croatian international in an interview given to The team.
Even if it’s not easy every day, you have to follow it to get to the top. I think the PSG can do good things just by trusting him. »
See also: PSG: The hatchet buried between Luis Enrique and Ousmane Dembélé?
The midfielder also spoke about how he felt when he mentioned the name of
Luis Enrique. « Lots of love. He was very important to me and my career and I am very grateful to him. He is one of the best coaches in the world. He is truly a very professional person and I have only good memories with him. You can’t imagine what you can learn from him before he becomes your coach. It’s not just about football. For example, he very quickly became interested in my life, in my family, in what I loved outside. These are details that strengthen the relationship. It can also help detect problems that could explain problems in the field. We spent a lot of time together, especially traveling. We met a lot of people… And each time, it was someone who was very attentive to the players. »
