Luis Enrique’s memorable managerial moments for Roma, Barcelona and Spain

Sean Fisher
6 July 2021

Thrills, spills and managerial fallouts - Luis Enrique has provided us with an array of memorable moments from the managerial hotseat.

Luis Enrique is one of the best and most decorated managers in world soccer and the mastermind of Barcelona's 2014/15 treble-winning success.

The current Spain head coach is already an icon in his home country and stood a penalty shooutout away from taking his side to the European Championship final.

That Spain's Euro 2020 bid ultimately ended in failure shouldn't be a surprise. For despite his success. most notably with Barcelona, it hasn't always been plain sailing for Enrique during his managerial career.

Planet Sport rewinds the clock and looks at the best and worst moments from Luis Enrique's career.

Leaving out a legend

Enrique was appointed as the head coach of Italian side Roma in the summer of 2011 in what was only his second managerial appointment.

Having taken charge of Barcelona B in the years prior, this was Enrique's first opportunity to showcase his skills and talents at first-team level.

It didn't take long for Enrique to make a lasting impression on the Roma faithful, leaving I Giallorossi legend Francesco Totti on the bench in his first game in charge.

Roma legend Francesco Totti

What's more is that it was a highly important game for the club - Roma faced Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round.

Roma fell to a 1-0 defeat which only fuelled the anger felt by fans and the player alike.

In the second leg, Totti was recalled to the starting line-up and it looked like all had been forgiven as Roma levelled the contest at 1-1.

However, 15 minutes from time, Enrique again risked the ire of the Roma fans by hauling off Totti and replacing him with Stefano Okaka.

Roma went on to concede a late goal and were dumped out of the Europa League before it had even begun.

The fans were unimpressed but Enrique was unrepentant.

Speaking after the game, he said: "I respect the fans, but I see what happens in training and I make my decisions based on that aspect. The supporters can't influence my decisions."

So, a sour start to life at Roma but one that would serve as a valuable lesson for Enrique.

Tensions with the world's best

After just one season in La Liga with Celta de Vigo, Enrique was appointed as the new head coach of his hometown club, Barcelona.

Having already achieved legendary status with the Catalonia side during his playing days, Enrique arrived with a certain promise for one of the world's most demanding jobs.

With a side stacked with high-profile names and some of the world's best players, a clash of personalities was inevitable upon Enrique's arrival.

Following a similar pattern to his spell at Roma, Enrique ended up having a complicated relationship with Barcelona hero Lionel Messi.

Luis Enrique and Lionel Messi enjoyed a strained relationship

Upon arrival at Barcelona, Enrique had stated in his first press conference that he was now the 'leader' of the club, a comment that didn't sit too well with Messi who was accustomed to player power.

Tensions grew after a bad run of form saw Messi question the new coach's tactics, and there were reports of numerous heated debates in both the dressing room and the training ground as a result.

There was also a moment in the earlier stages of Enrique's tenure at Camp Nou where Messi apparently refused to be substituted. With 15 minutes left and Barcelona leading 3-0, Enrique opted to rest Messi for the final minutes. However, the Argentinian had different ideas and decided to play on.

The tensions between the two were very clear at this point and the Spanish media naturally pounced at the opportunity to make their dispute public.

World domination

Despite getting off to a rocky start at Barcelona, matters would soon be resolved, and Enrique emerged as one of Barcelona's most successful managers of recent years.

Enrique and Messi put their troubles aside and the latter played an instrumental role in the club's success under Enrique, including a world-dominating 2015.

Barcelona kicked off a hugely impressive trophy haul by being crowned the La Liga champions. They achieved this with one game to spare, pipping rivals Real Madrid to the title.

Title glory was quickly followed by a resounding 3-1 Copa del Rey final win over Athletic Bilbao. With two titles in quick succession, Enrique was quickly fulfilling his potential and reasserting Barcelona's domestic dominance.

The Catalonian giants didn't stop there either and quickly set their sights on the UEFA Champions League, where they faced Italian side Juventus in the final.

Enrique would go on to make history once more as Barcelona were crowned kings of Europe following a 3-1 victory, completing a historic treble in his first season in charge.

At the start of the following season, Barcelona's dominance continued, adding the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup to cap off an astounding year for the club.

Enrique had transformed Barcelona into an almost unbeatable side and it was largely down to his tactical tweaks at the start of the year. The Spanish coach in particular was responsible for building one of the most deadly attacking trios ever witnessed.

Luis Suarez, Messi and Neymar became one of the best front lines of all time, scoring 122 goals between them, breaking the previous record held by Cristiano Ronaldo and co.

Enrique had shown he was capable of getting the best out of his world class stars - even if he had to endure a rocky start.

Personal accolades

Barca's stellar 2015 was reflected in the number of personal accolades awarded to Enrique.

The Spaniard received the La Liga Coach of the Year award as well as the European Coach of the Year, and the awards continued to pour in, this time from outside of Europe.

Barcelona players celebrate with Luis Enrique after their Champions League win

Enrique was voted as the FIFA World Coach of the Year, alongside the World Soccer Manager of the Year and the IFFHS World's Best Club Coach.

Within the space of a year, Enrique had gone from a controversial Barcelona coach to the manager of one of the world's best ever sides.

That Champions League comeback

Having enjoyed plenty of success in his first two seasons with Barcelona, Enrique was now in his third and final year with the club, but he wouldn't go out without a bang.

Barcelona had a difficult fixture in the Champions League round of 16 against French heavyweights, Paris Saint-Germain. PSG were in pursuit of their first Champions League title under their new ownership, and knew a win against Barcelona would put them in good stead.

And, much to the surprise of most fans, the French side showed their intentions immediately, comfortably beating Enrique's Barcelona side 4-0 in the first leg of the fixture.

In what seemed an impossible task in the second leg, the talismanic Suarez got Barcelona off to a promising start, scoring within three minutes of the tie.

PSG managed to remain resolute for much of the first half, but Barcelona went 2-0 up right before the break courtesy of a Layvin Kurzawa own goal. With the deficit now cut to two, Barcelona had set up a thrilling second half.

Barcelona cut the deficit further when Messi converted a penalty shortly after the break. However, the task looked a whole lot more difficult for Enrique's side when Edinson Cavani clawed one back for the visitors.

Approaching the final few minutes, Barcelona still needed to find three goals.

Faith was slightly restored in the 88th minute when Neymar's incredible free-kick bulged the net, and the Barcelona faithful regained their voice when the Brazilian scored again from the spot in the 91st minute.

With only seconds left, Barcelona pushed for the goal that would send them through. And, in the fifth minute of injury time, the impossible became reality, with substitute Sergi Roberto connecting with Neymar's cross to send Camp Nou into raptures.

Barcelona had beaten PSG 6-1 on the night and 6-5 on aggregate to complete one of the greatest soccer comebacks of all time.

Falling out with his right-hand man

After his reign as Barcelona boss, Enrique took a year out of management before becoming the new head coach of the Spanish national team.

Following their failings at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Enrique was brought in with the hope that he could reignite Spain's success in a similar way to his work at Barcelona.

Things got off to a decent start for Enrique and he seemed to be well on his way to success before tragic events with his daughter's health meant Enrique stepped down and passed the reins to his assistant, Roberto Moreno.

Luis Enrique and Roberto Moreno taking charge of Barcelona

Moreno had been Enrique's right-hand man for a number of years including during his spells at Celta Vigo, Roma and Barcelona.

Therefore, the two had formed a close relationship and Moreno had stated that he would take over until Enrique was able to return to management.

Spain went on to perform well under Moreno, recording seven wins from nine games, and keeping five clean sheets in the process. Moreno revealed he was hoping to secure an extension to his contract so he could continue to lead Spain through to Euro 2020.

However, with Enrique ready to re-enter management for the summer tournament, Moreno's statement left him deeply unimpressed.

With Moreno now staking a claim to become manager during Euro 2020, Enrique felt betrayed, and the relationship quickly started to fray.

Enrique later stated: "He (Moreno) is disloyal and that is a major defect for me. I don't want people like that on my staff."

A once strong bond between the two had now turned sour and Moreno was no longer part of Enrique's entourage heading into Euro 2020.

Despite his coaching team having been depleted, Enrique led his Spain side to the semi-finals, where they suffered a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Roberto Mancini's Italy.

6-0 thumping

As international soccer resumed following the break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Enrique quickly made his mark on Spanish soccer once again.

With much of Spain's golden generation entering retirement, Enrique was tasked with rebuilding the squad with a plethora of inexperienced players.

However, it didn't take long for Enrique's new-look side to show what they were capable of, as Spain went on to dominate Germany in a 6-0 thumping in the UEFA Nations League.

This dominant display saw Spain inflict the heaviest ever competitive defeat on the four-time world champions.

Not only was this an impressive victory, but it was the young stars that were leading the way. Twenty-year-old winger Ferran Torres recorded his first ever career hat-trick and 23-year-old Mikel Oyarzabal scored the sixth and final goal to round off a resounding win.

The victory also meant that Spain were through to the semi-final of the Nations League finals for the first time.

Enrique's Spanish tenure was now fully underway, and this time he didn't even have to fall out with a major player.