Luis Enrique: Roma Match Will Be Beautiful, But Playing Away from Home Will Be Difficult

On September 5 at 3:05 AM CEST, PSG will face AS Roma at home in the third matchday of the UEFA Champions League. One day before the match, PSG manager Luis Enrique held a press conference. This article is the second part of that press conference.

【Luis Enrique: The Ballon d'Or Winner Should Be a Striker, But I Could Be Wrong】

Hello, on September 3rd, can you tell us whether you will do everything possible with the team to win a third Champions League title for the supporters?

But this competition hasn't even started yet! Okay, the objective is very clear, you all know it. I've said it many times. It's been this way since the first day I arrived. There is nothing more important in the world than winning the Champions League to win these important trophies. Everyone is fighting with great determination, and all the PSG supporters firmly believe we can do it. But that doesn't mean it will be easy. As a manager, I must always maintain balance, control all our energy, and manage it carefully. When positive energy or enthusiasm builds up, I need to handle it well. That's the best choice at these times. We haven't even played Slovak Bratislava yet. We need to focus on how we can improve and perform well in tomorrow's first match.

Hello, I want to talk about Brahim Díaz's departure and the profile of pacey players. I'm not sure whether the team's offensive strength has improved or declined—we'll see in the future—but would you say that PSG's overall player profile and attacking characteristics this season are truly different from before?

Obviously, there is a clear difference. The reason is that Brahim is an exceptional individual player, and I think our style of play previously used his characteristics well. As I mentioned earlier, he played an important role, but in our attacking line I'm particularly pleased with Maghnes Akliouche, Ferran Torres, and Mika Hotz. We have many possibilities, and all three can play anywhere on the pitch. This is important for us during a long season because we face a very busy fixture schedule. Every time I see their attitude in training and see the performance Mika gives us—he's only 20 years old, Ferran has experience but is still young, and Maghnes is a very experienced player, but he was born to play for a team of our level—I'm very satisfied with them. But we shouldn't always compare them, because we never know what will happen in the future. Let's wait and see.

When you learned you would face Roma in the Champions League, what thoughts went through your mind? Roma is a special team in your playing and managerial career, a team close to your heart...

It brings back very good memories. Unfortunately, I won't be able to play this match at Stadio Olimpico, but for me it's a warm and beautiful memory. Let's see—it will be a very difficult match because Roma has made great progress under De Rossi's leadership with intelligent tactical changes. They are an excellent team.

Good evening. How much more important is winning tomorrow's match? Is it more important to compete for the league title at the start of the new season, or is it mainly to silence outside talk and debate since you haven't won yet?

What do you think? If we don't win tomorrow, will we be immediately eliminated from the competition? Do you think that? Okay, obviously, tomorrow our objective at Parc des Princes is to beat the team that beat us most recently, which is quite a beautiful challenge—we will do our best. It won't be easy because Monaco is always an excellent team, especially with this manager whom I greatly respect. I've always appreciated managers who are passionate, love football, and express themselves on the pitch.

Hello coach, I've seen you relaxing happily on the grass before. Will you do the same at Parc des Princes? But setting that aside, what are your thoughts about the new stadium? Are you satisfied? What problems did you face at the Ligues without this stadium? What are your overall feelings?

Clearly, clearly, we originally planned to play our first match at Parc des Princes as scheduled, but that didn't happen—it was a great disappointment for us. Tomorrow I hope the pitch will be in excellent condition. I've heard the pitch is now in very good shape, but we'll see during the match whether it maintains consistency with our style of play throughout. Because if a team needs the pitch to be in excellent condition, that team is us. Let's see tomorrow.

Hello Luis, Monaco manager Filipe once said you could be one of the five best managers in football history. How do you feel about his high praise? Also, what are your expectations for this Brazilian manager's first experience managing a European club?

This is his first managerial experience in Europe, but he has accomplished many important things in Brazil. As I mentioned before, we saw what kind of manager he is when he was preparing for Flamengo and the Intercontinental Cup. When I heard he was coming to France to manage, I was happy at first, but then I became worried—not so happy anymore (laughs)—because it's very important for French football to have new managers who love the game, seek quality, and have rich experience both as players and as managers. That's excellent news for French football, and I'm very pleased. There's nothing more to say. After our match, I'll wish him the best.

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