Luis Enrique and the search for identity

“ It’s not an opinion ,” Luis Enrique replied when asked if he represented the Barcelona identity more than Xavi, his Catalan counterpart. “ Look at the statistics, in terms of possession, chances, pressing, trophies… Others might have a different opinion, but it’s definitely me .” 

It was a statement that left Barcelona fans cold and indignant ahead of the opening tie against Paris Saint-Germain and their former manager at the Parc des Princes in this year’s Champions League quarter-final. Luis Enrique’s past glories would hardly be forgotten because of one comment, but the feeling was that he had overstepped the mark. Xavi is a native son of the city, an icon of their golden era, and more importantly their current manager. 

Despite becoming the captain of Barcelona during his playing career and winning the treble with the Catalans as a manager, there has always been the feeling that a man who has called himself Asturian, Spanish, and Catalan, was simply an adopted son of the club. Born and raised outside of Catalonia and far away from the streets where his achievements would later be celebrated. 

It was a stick with which Luis Enrique was beaten with during his time as their manager. There was always a lingering implication from some quarters that he never fully understood the cultural identity of the club. After his Barcelona side lost the first leg in the now-infamous La Remontada, Santi Giménez of Diario AS wrote prematurely, “ It is not that Barcelona are out of Europe; it is that Barcelona are out of Barcelona .” The accusation was clear; under Luis Enrique, the club had not simply lost its way but lost its identity. 

Despite his public declarations that he does not read what the press writes about him, these