FC Barcelona legend Ronald Koeman laid into PSG coach Luis Enrique for comments he made during the build-up to a Champions League quarterfinal first leg between the two teams.
Though he still sees the Ligue 1 giants as the favourites to win the tie overall, Xavi noted that his team is “halfway” through to the last four after winning 3-2 in Paris on Wednesday night.
Ahead of kick-off, it was Luis Enrique and not Xavi or his players that dominated the headlines with a bold claim the ex-Barca and Spain boss made at his pre-match press conference.
Asked who represented Barca’s style better in himself, the winner of the Catalans’ last Champions League title in 2015, or his captain of the treble that year who came through the La Masia academy, Luis Enrique answered cockily: “Without a doubt, me.”
“Look at the possession data, titles, [playing] at high pressure. Look at the data. It’s not an opinion, it’s numbers, data. It’s not up for debate,” insisted ‘Lucho’.
Naturally asked about this during his own sitdown with the press later that day, Xavi answered, “It’s Luis Enrique. I know him very well,” while smiling.
“I have a personal relationship with him, he’s one of the best coaches in the world and he has a team [ready] to win the Champions League. We’re both looking for the same thing,” Xavi added.
Luis Enrique and Xavi were seen hugging and laughing about the storm in a teacup before their sides locked horns.
Yet Koeman, who was fired from the hotseat in October 2021 and replaced by his fellow legendary midfielder didn’t see the funny side.
“I saw the image yesterday before the match between Luis Enrique and Xavi and they seemed to be very good friends, but a day before I saw Luis Enrique making some out of place statements,” Koeman remarked.
“I think there is more between these two coaches, and I think you will know more [later].”
On the DNA, Koeman said that he believes it involves winning titles above all.
“Before a game, talking about this topic, in my personal opinion, is not good,” he added.
For Koeman, who scored the winning goal of the 1992 Champions League final which made Barca kings of Europe for the first time, there is a ‘Holy Trinity’ at the Blaugrana as he explained.
“For me, the DNA is represented by three people at Barca. Number one is Johan [Cruyff]. Number two is Pep [Guardiola], with whom the club played the best football in its history. And another one is missing, which is [Lionel] Messi. If you have Messi, you don’t need DNA…”
Two and a half years later, Koeman evidently still has sour grapes with president Joan Laporta for dismissing him from the managerial hotseat.
“It may be that Laporta has learned to protect his coach, compared to before,” he said.
“Now he told Xavi that he has to keep going. Of course, now the coach will have to change because of [Xavi’s] decision [to resign]. [So] who the new coach is, is very important.”