Luis Enrique Coaching Style At PSG 2023/24: How He Will Approach The Champions League Challenge – Tactical Analysis

In his inaugural interview as the new coach of Paris Saint-Germain, the seasoned Spanish coach Luis Enrique proudly declared, Im an attacking coach.

A critical juncture for the club, as its ambitious owners seek to achieve what cannot be reached: winning the UEFA Champions League.

Since the club was acquired by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) in 2011, they have been fixated on a distant dream of winning the UEFA Champions League.

However, this pursuit has led them down a path of repeated reconstruction cycles and subsequent failures.

In this comprehensive tactical analysis, presented as a scout report, we will delve into the overarching issues faced by Paris Saint-Germain, particularly in the context of the Champions League.

With Luis Enrique at the helm, the club embarks on a new era, where he emphatically stated, The main reason is that the directors have an obvious idea of the team they want to build. Do PSG actually now have what they never had?

From Mauricio Pochettino and whose before to Christophe Galtier and then now, from Leonardo Araújo to Luis Campos, and from the problem of Neymar and then Messi and his departure to the repeated dilemma of Mbappé, the Parisians keep hot, not with championships and numbers, but with issues and changes — The issues plaguing Paris Saint-Germain seem to be a continuous and ever-evolving cycle.

The build despair

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships. — Michael Jordan.

Since the Qataris acquisition, which injected substantial financial resources into Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the team has experienced success in domestic championships.

However, the dream remained unattainable.

Despite boasting a roster filled with numerous star players over the years, PSG have struggled to form a cohesive football and administrative team capable of sustained success.

Their approach seemed to rely on short-term success and constant hope of achieving Champions League glory rather than building a solid foundation for long-term prosperity.

Successful teams prioritise building a solid infrastructure outside the pitch in modern football before focusing on on-field performance.

This involves adopting an evident long-term approach, which then influences decisions in management, scouting, analysing, coaching, and player recruitment.

Such an approach fosters sustainable success, and even in the face of setbacks, it allows the team to find its way back on track.

However, PSGs impatience and lack of foresight prevented them from emulating the long-term team-building strategies employed by clubs like Manchester City and Newcastle now.

While the owners spared no expense on acquiring top players, the club often made ill-considered signings before establishing a clear sports direction with a sports director and coach in place sometimes.

Moreover, assembling a team solely based on gathering the best 11 players in the world is not always a practical approach in a team sport.

While having exceptional megastars can be beneficial, it can also lead to issues — what happened with PSG — like ego clashes and a lack of team chemistry.

A team with multiple megastars may suffer from divisions and a lack of cohesion, hindering their performance on the field.

It is enough to express the presence of these stars.

As of the European Champions Report of Football Benchmark in 2023, Paris Saint-Germain have recorded the highest-ever wage bill for a professional football club, amounting to an astounding €728 million (£645 million) annually.

Plus, despite the star-studded additions to the squad, PSG faced real tactical challenges during matches.

Notably, even with stars like Leo Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappé, the team struggled during out-of-possession phases, often having only seven players engaged defensively.

This deficiency significantly hampered their effectiveness without the ball.

The fans believe that, as the ultras conveyed their concerns to club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi through a formal letter.

In this letter, they requested a meeting with him to express their dissatisfaction with the clubs approach to flashy signings.

The ultras labelled PSGs project as lacking a clear sports policy and direction: a sports policy without real direction.

Apart from signing significant stars, PSG have recently observed a shift towards more mature young signings, with particular credit to Luis Campos after Leonardos era.

During Leonardos era and in 2019-20, the club made signings like Abdou Diallo, Ander Herrera, Idrissa Gueye, Mauro Icardi, Pablo Sarabia, and Keylor Navas.

On the other hand, Luis Campos has been instrumental in initiating a new project.

He played a pivotal role in securing the renewal of Kylian Mbappes contract and also brought in promising talents such as Nordi Mukiele, Vitinha, Carlo Soler, Fabián Ruiz, Renato Sanches, and Hugo Ekitike.

Now Luis Campos seems also about to be fired as well — PSG are eyeing a move for Paolo Maldini as their new sporting director in the event of Luis Campos departure.

In anticipation of an imminent change in the sporting director position and before finalising their new coach, PSG has been active in the summer transfer window, securing significant signings.

The most notable additions in the graphic below:

PSGs Champions League tumbles

Perhaps the best person to express the teams hardship with the Champions League is their former coach, the French Laurent Blanc — I know a bit about the place, the club, et cetera, Blanc said.

The problem with Paris is that when the number one goal and the goal that interests you and all the fans is no longer achievable, it seems that the season no longer exists.

The former