Grading Luis Enrique on Barcelona's 2014/15 Liga Season
Luis Enrique came into Barcelona as first-team manager at a difficult time for the club.
The end of the 2013/14 season saw Tata Martino finish empty-handed, save a Spanish Supercup, and with the desire of the team seemingly lost.
Sky Sports' Guillem Balague noted toward the business end of that season: "There is a lack of leadership on the bench, on the pitch and at the club, so they are trying to find their feet, and what we are seeing is a team that is far too relaxed—they are a side without intensity and with few demands tactically and physically."
With that in mind, we can be fairly sure what the brief was for Enrique, a manager who, to that point, had flattered to deceive at senior level.
The most successful Barca B manager ever had left AS Roma after just one disappointing year of his contract, and while his tenure at Celta Vigo was a little more commendable, it was unspectacular.
Trying to assert your will to a group of World Cup and Champions League winners might therefore have proved difficult, but Luis Enrique is no shrinking violet. He proved as much in his playing career by swapping Real Madrid for the Blaugrana.
Would his abrasive and forthright style have the desired effect? Let's take a brief look at some aspects of his first season in the Barca hot seat and grade them accordingly.
Style: A+
What we have seen from Barcelona in terms of their style of play during the 2014/15 season has been different to anything we have seen before from the Catalans. Certainly in the recent past.
Tata Martino had tried something different to the passing carousel that was a trademark of the Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova eras, and the long ball worked for a time.
When opposition sides worked out when Gerard Pique was going to hit a 50-yard cross-field diagonal, and they had already locked up shop elsewhere, Barca didn't have an awful lot else to break down teams with.
Incredible when you think of the staff that they had available.
"Picture: Luis Enrique after Liga win at Atletico's stadium #fcblive [fcb] pic.twitter.com/tiL2LFI28a
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) May 21, 2015"
Enrique has been a big winner here because his fresh pair of eyes identified the need to play in different styles for different opponents but not at the expense of what makes Barcelona who they are.
The high pressing and urgency returned, but along with it came the "Plan B" that Barca needed to win matches they would've previously drawn.
Counter-attacking football from the Blaugrana had rarely, if ever, been seen, but Enrique took the blueprint by the scruff of the neck and adapted it perfectly. Bravo Lucho!
Man management: A-
As the season has progressed, Enrique has got the best from his players, particularly toward the latter stages.
His rotation policy, which appeared not to please everyone, had at least produced the desired effect of keeping everyone fresh right up until the business end of the campaign.
During this unprecedented run of form, there haven't been any breaking of ranks by the players, unlike earlier in the season.
Gerard Pique's face spoke volumes when he was benched against Levante and for other games, while a huge training-ground bust-up with Lionel Messi was well publicised, buy outlets such as Goal.
It quotes Pique in his interview with Spanish radio programme El Partido de las 12, admitting: "Luis Enrique calls the shots more than Messi, obviously. He's the coach, the boss, though Leo has a lot of clout in the dressing room.
"There are disagreements in every squad. Luis Enrique and Messi had a spat, but it's a thing of the past."
When it comes down to it, the egos within such a star-studded squad require a particular skill set to manage them well. Enrique appears to achieved that.
Win percentage: A+
Has there ever been a manager in any side anywhere who has won so many games in their first season in charge?
Despite an extraordinary response from his players, per his post-match press conference after the epic 3-0 win over Bayern Munich (h/t Tom Conn of Inside Spanish Football, via UEFA), Enrique noted that he wasn't "interested in the percentages."
That's as maybe, but he does have the most successful start to a debut campaign as Barcelona manager in history.
Upon reaching his 50th game of the season, FC Barcelona noted the numbers. His 42 wins at that stage easily surpassed Pep Guardiola's 37 of the 2008/09 campaign and previous holder of the most wins Helenio Herrera with 40.
Silverware: A
At this stage of the season, Enrique has his first Liga crown as a manager in the bag with two finals left to secure legendary status.
Talk of the treble has taken away exactly what Lucho has managed to achieve in the league, especially given that things weren't so harmonious pre-Christmas.
While silverware is expected, as Martino found out, it's not always certain, and Enrique should be given the credit he deserves for turning around the fortunes of the side.
.jpg?w=600 "Shedeur not currently in line for Browns QB1")
