PSG: “I like players who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the team,” underlines Luis Enrique

“It’s quite simple to explain.

My staff and I try to have the ball more than the opponent.

The way we occupy spaces depends on the match and we occupy them with one player rather than another, that's how we imagine the game. We try to be unpredictable for the opponent... but predictable for us .

As the months go by, our players have more knowledge about our game and what we are looking for.

But there is the plan, and then it is the quality of the players who make it implemented or not.

“He is a player who adapts perfectly to our idea of ​​play, to the qualities that a midfielder must have, versatility, who does not lose the ball which is his specialty, he is good with and without the ball , that he occupies spaces well and that he plays well with his teammates.

We are very demanding of him, we think that he has a lot of room for improvement, that he can score even more and defensively, his interpretation of the game. He is a player who has unlimited energy.

He plays every minute but he still wants to train afterwards, with those who haven't played... He's a very interesting player and it's a pleasure to have him in our team.

“It's very good, there is nothing more important for a player than to have the trust of his supporters, of everyone.

That of the coach, he has always had it, he is a world class player, a number 1. To have such a goalkeeper, there are only one or two like him at world level, it is very important.

We are all very happy with his performances, his success, his progress.

We want him to be a leader in the squad.

He necessarily has a broader vision of the pitch due to his position and he can help us with the positioning of his teammates.

But in terms of his performance, I’m very happy with what he’s doing.”

“For tomorrow, it’s special, just after the Champions League.

It's sometimes complicated to find the motivation for a championship match just after C1... We have room in the rankings, we are in good conditions.

I don't know if it's better or worse but you'll have to be focused because it will be a complicated match.

We want to stay alive in all competitions.

It's now that the titles are at stake and that's why we want to be competitive everywhere."

“Players are not machines.

He hasn't played for months due to injury... He's been exceptional in his position, he's seen how the team plays.

We use the shorter left back, less wide, but he dominated the playing spaces, he knew how to manage the game situations... He will recover his form gradually, we will not take any risks with a player who has been away for so long.

But he has a very good level.

It was his first starting match, in the Champions League and away!

He did the right thing and that’s great news.”

“Each player has a preferred position but we have to stop focusing on that and say I can only play here.

I want to say: if the team needs you on the other side, why couldn't you do it?.

It's true that I really like Beraldo in the center, it's perhaps his ideal position, but if the team needs him as a full-back, he is open to that option.

Same thing with Lucas Hernandez or the wingers for example.

I prefer Ousmane Dembélé right winger but he could play as a false 9… In fact, even a striker could play defender for me if we need him to do so at some point.

I need 23 players who say to me: “where do you want me to play coach”?

And that's the beautiful thing when you create a team, a group, that the players play where we need them and do things a little differently.

I like players who are ready to sacrifice themselves for the team.

(…) Its adaptation?

It's the fruit of Luis Campos' good work to recruit a player like him in a position where we had a lot of injuries.

You need time to adapt when you change country, continent, language, philosophy... But that's the beauty of football: everyone is different, and the players are too, but it seems that he is already Parisian, that he is a player from the training center (smile)!

Despite his young age, his adaptation is incredible, it seems like he has many years with professionals behind him... It's great that he adapted so quickly, he has personality and enormous qualities and above all , it adapts well to our idea of ​​the game. It’s extraordinary… Logically, however, it’s the exception because it takes time to adapt.”

“No.

We will be among the eight best teams in Europe this year but the objective is to be among the four best and to continue to be competitive.

We must reverse this trend of negative pressure around the club.

It must push us to the contrary.

I want the supporters, the players, the club to have this desire, this will, this wish to be part of the four best, we will see what happens in the draw (March 15, Editor's note), but not from fear and nor pressure.

We have never won the Champions League, so we only have desire and ambition.

We must not imagine ourselves inferior to any other team.

The beauty of football is that it is unpredictable.

We don't know who will win it.

We simply want to improve our level.”

“In the first leg, the score was largely in our favor but did not reflect the nature of the game.

Gigio had been great and the Rémois had a lot of chances.

They come out if you don't press enough, they play wider if you press, they have possibilities, quality players, mobility, depth... It's an interesting match for us to correct certain things, pressing in a coordinated manner, defending wider balls well… It will be a difficult match, we will have to go for it.

But with our supporters and our energy, we can win.”

“I didn’t ask him what his problems are to be honest.

Will he start against Reims?

We'll see depending on the weather, whether it's hot or not (smile).”

“I hadn’t thought about it yet.

It's a possibility.

I will see.

I will tell the players first, that’s what I always do.”