It was a relaxed Luis Enrique, but who did not want to confirm his extension, who spoke at a press conference this Friday on the eve of PSG/Strasbourg. The Spanish coach was notably questioned about several individual cases such as Presnel Kimpembe, Randal Kolo Muani, Warren Zaire-Emery and Nuno Mendes. Here are his full remarks, translated by us.
Several media are announcing your extension at PSG. Can you confirm and if so, what convinced you?
” Good morning. As long as there is no official statement, I have nothing to say on this subject. »
We know that in your daily life, you pay attention to the smallest detail in the management of your group. How do you go about warning your players about their daily outings and private lives?
“What are you referring to?” »
From your daily management of outings that your players may have, apart from for their private life or also sometimes for performances for the club…
“I am the coach of a football team, not their father”
“I’m the coach of a football team, not their father. I am a father, but I take care of my children. I am the coach of a football team. I manage a football team and players. The private life belongs to the main parties concerned and their families. »
Kolo Muani highlighted himself with the France team during the break. Can this change your view of him? Can he have a little more playtime with you?
“It’s always good news for me as a coach that my international players have good results, have good matches, score goals, defend well. The better they perform in the selection, the better it is for me and my team of course. »
Warren Zaire-Emery is a starter at PSG. He is having a slightly less good period this season. How can we help him get back to his best level?
“Warren has been superb at the start of the season”
“Warren?” He has been superb at the start of the season. For me anyway. He may have been a little below his level during the last match (in Nice, editor’s note), but like the whole team, especially in the first half. But otherwise, I think we have the best Warren of last season. »
Kimpembe has resumed collective training in recent days. Do you know when he will be able to play again and what more can he bring to your team?
“Kimpembe is already helping us in training”
“The reality is that no one knows how long it might take because it’s always difficult to predict, to evaluate. But what I can say is that I will be very happy if Kimpembe can help us. He already helps us in training with his personality, his experience and his footballing qualities and it’s a real pleasure to have him. I am very happy to see that he is reaching the end of this path. »
PSG’s schedule promises to be busy in the next 2-3 weeks with shocks in Ligue 1 and the Champions League. Is this a turning point of the season and how are you approaching it?
“I consider it a perfect moment for us because it means we are playing the competitions we want to play. This is a usual time for us. We need to get used to this as soon as possible because we hope it will be like this for the next few years. »
Since the start of the season, Liam Rosenior has made his team play very well. What attitude should your team adopt tomorrow to have a peaceful evening?
“It will not be a quiet match against Strasbourg”
“A quiet match against Strasbourg, I can assure you that will not happen. I have already warned my players. It won’t be easy because Strasbourg is a team with a lot of quality players. It seems to me that it is the youngest team in the history of Ligue 1. With the mentality of its coach and the way he sees football, it is a team which scores a lot of goals, which is very dangerous, who doesn’t speculate, who presses high, who has no problem playing one against one. It will therefore not be a quiet match, but a very difficult and closely contested match. I think there will be alternatives for both teams. »
Can you explain to us the role of Nuno Mendes in your system? And tell us what progress you would like it to have in relation to its qualities and your system?
“Nuno Mendes still has a lot of room for improvement”
“It’s very easy to define. He is a full-back with top technical and physical qualities, with, in my opinion, a good interpretation of the game and still plenty of room for improvement. He is still very young, even though he has been playing at the highest level for several years. For him, we are trying to find a positioning for him in attack and defense that can bring as much as possible to the team. When he attacks, he is a player who makes a difference thanks to his speed, his quality, his crosses. I hope I can bring him positive things so that he can develop as a player offensively and defensively, but we are of course talking about an exceptional and remarkable player. »
Ligue 1 presented a new trophy for the French champion. What do you think about it and do you think that Ligue 1 needs to renew its image?
“I didn’t quite understand, are you talking about a new trophy? I haven’t seen it yet, sorry. Are there any photos? Can you show it to me? (The journalist shows him on his phone). Ah, it’s a World Cup! Very pretty, I like it. The most important thing is to win it and to do that you have to deserve it. »
Can you tell us about your management of young future talents like Barcola, Mendes or Doué. The fans and even the media want to see them play very quickly, right away. You have management, do you bring them into play gradually? Can you tell us about this?
“The response the team gave at the start of the season was very positive”
“It’s quite simple. A player’s progression is never linear. There are ups and downs. So it’s very important when you’re in a good moment not to believe that you’re a one-and-done player. And conversely, when things don’t work so well, don’t believe that you’re a normal player. All the players who are in this squad have a lot of qualities. Not everyone will be able to progress because that’s how football works. But the response that the team gave at the start of the season, from a general point of view, is very positive and more positive even than I hoped. And this progression of players with some acquiring more responsibilities indicates that we are on the right path. We are not going to focus on a single player because I repeat, this progression is not linear. Of course if I were a PSG supporter, I would like to see the young people and all these quality players playing every match, but there is not space for everyone. I have enough experience to handle this in the best possible way for the team. »
Mental health has long been taboo, but this is less the case now. How are you mentally? How do you manage the mental aspect on a daily basis?
“Fortunately, it is no longer a taboo subject. To be able to work on a psychological level, the player must obviously have the capacity and the desire to face this work. Generations pass and the young people of today are different from those we were back then. Adapting to what the player needs is very important. But it’s not something free or easy. Each player must also want to improve in these aspects. »
Many players were called upon during the break? Are you going to incorporate players tomorrow who have had a little less playing time or are you going to keep your backbone in the middle in particular?
“For tomorrow, we need to have a broader vision of what happens next. Take into account the minutes played in the selection, travel, fatigue. It’s obvious that tomorrow’s lineup will be clearly conditioned by all these important elements, knowing that we have to win this match tomorrow. It won’t be easy tomorrow and it’s never easy to play right after the international break. »
Has the group’s confidence been affected by the latest results?
“I repeat, but a season is never linear. There are good times, more complicated times. For the moment, I don’t think we’ve had a bad period this season. We would all like to win every match, but that is not possible in football. I see the team in good dynamic. We are going to have six very important matches in three weeks, whether in Ligue 1 or the Champions League. We are very motivated and very prepared to meet our supporters tomorrow at the Parc des Princes and try to put in a very good match. »
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