The Success of Luis Enrique's Silent Revolution

The success of leading Paris Saint-Germain to win the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history simultaneously proves the victory of Luis Enrique's ideas. The Spanish coach has always believed that individual talent is not significantly higher than team collectivity. Relying on this idea, since last season, Enrique has initiated a silent revolution project at PSG.

The city of Munich has once again demonstrated its charm by producing a new champion of the Champions League. PSG joins the ranks of Nottingham Forest, Olympique Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, and Chelsea, who celebrated their first championship title in the city. PSG not only emerged as champions but also celebrated a goal fest, defeating Inter Milan 5-0, in a match held at the Allianz Arena on Sunday (1/6/2025) early morning WIB.

PSG's journey to win the Champions League was so steep. They had to struggle to reach the knockout stages through the playoffs. After qualifying, PSG met tough opponents from the Premier League such as Liverpool, Arsenal, and Aston Villa. However, they passed all those obstacles smoothly. Not only that, PSG made the grand final stage like a playground by making Inter completely fail to develop their game.

All of this was achieved thanks to Enrique's silent revolution project since he was appointed to manage PSG last season. Before Enrique arrived in Paris, PSG was known as a team synonymous with megastar players.

With financial support from Qatar Sports Investment, PSG has been able to easily acquire the megastars they desire, such as Edinson Cavani, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappe.

Ironically, these megastar players have never led PSG to its greatest dream, winning the Champions League. The individual skills of these megastar players have only been sufficient to bring PSG domestic glory. In fact, PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi is willing to spend a significant amount of money solely to make PSG dominate Europe, not just France.

Enrique is attempting to change the paradigm that has long been associated with PSG. Before accepting the offer to coach PSG, he set one condition, which was to be allowed to build the team according to his wishes without interference from the club's executives. With this condition, Enrique aims to eliminate PSG's longstanding tendency to prioritize individual talent over team collectivity.

According to him, glory is more likely to be achieved through team collectivity, rather than solely relying on the talents of superstar players. That is why the departures of Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe did not end in disaster for PSG. That loss has instead become a blessing for Enrique.

"Our game is not about allowing Mbappe to do whatever he wants. That is an old philosophy of the club, which has never won major trophies," said Enrique.

Enrique then worked to initiate a silent revolution project without megastar players on his team. He built a team where collaboration became essential.

Alongside this, Enrique sparked a dynamic in which the mobility and adaptability of players became paramount. Each player can occupy different roles according to the needs of the match. This makes PSG difficult to predict by their opponents.

"The team started the season with principles that have been well assimilated, and the coach is trying to incorporate more mobility. Currently, the player in position 6 can become the player in position 8, the player in position 8 can become the player in position 10, the player in position 10 can become the player in position 6, along with the forwards," said PSG midfielder, Vitinha, as quoted by RMC Sport.

"You never know whether they are on the left, right, or in the middle. This is very difficult (to predict) for the opponent. The coach is trying to implement it, and I think that is the key. It is very difficult for other teams (to decide) whether to press one-on-one or not press and choose to stay in a low block," added Vitinha.

This flexibility is combined with the demand for total defensive commitment, especially from the attackers. Under Enrique's guidance, PSG has transformed into a highly aggressive team in pressing. As seen in the final match against Inter, from the very first minute, PSG's attackers did not allow the opponents to build their attacks freely from the defensive line. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele, and Desire Doue aggressively disrupted Inter's defenders.

It is very rare to see how all the forwards work hard to assist the defense from the front line. Typically, forwards tend to have a mindset that their role is only to attack, while the responsibility of defending is the job of midfielders and defenders.

This tendency in mindset is increasingly likely to manifest if the attacker is a megastar. The sole aim is to score goals and make oneself the hero of the team's victory, without regard for the collective responsibilities in defense.

Enrique anticipates the situation. He instills in the players that defending is also the responsibility of the forwards. Without the support of the forwards in defense, the task of repelling the opponent's attacks will become more difficult for the midfielders and defenders.

In general terms, Enrique's fundamental playing pattern is to play attractively, relying on the energy of his young players. He instructs his players to aggressively press the opponent when they do not have possession of the ball.

This style of play has become one of the hallmarks of PSG this season. The forwards, supported by the midfielders, swarm the opponents who are in possession of the ball to disrupt their attempts to build an attack. On the other hand, the wingers maneuver unnoticed by the opposing players.

"You can see how much (our attackers) are winning the ball. This is one of the most difficult concepts to instill because the attackers have to change their mindset. It's about working as a team. We did it last season, but we are better this year," said Enrique.

Thanks to such an aggressive way of playing, it becomes increasingly difficult for opponents to think and escape from the pressure. PSG midfielder Joao Neves revealed that Enrique trained the players to recover the ball as soon as possible (recovery). The rough idea is that the players must give 100 percent of their ability when attacking, but give 120 percent of their effort when taking the ball from the opponent.

"For the team we are up against, it is very difficult if they regain possession of the ball and then lose it again. Therefore, that aspect of the game is very satisfying to execute. The less time they have to breathe, the better it is for us," said Neves.

Enrique's playing style, as described by Neves, heavily relies on team collectivism. This explains why Enrique has stipulated the condition to be allowed to form a team according to his preferences. With this authority, Enrique aims to revolutionize the long-standing understanding at PSG that believed it could achieve glory with just one or two quality players. (AP)