Sport
Luis Enrique could be a great fit for Chelsea
Luis Enrique is on the lookout for a new job. After leaving Spain following a disappointing World Cup performance in Qatar, the former Barcelona boss is making noises. Perhaps people should be listening.
It is rare that the very top jobs become available mid-season, but on current evidence, the 52-year-old is right to be positioning himself now. Tottenham sacked Antonio Conte last week, and his name has been heavily linked with the North London club. When Bayern Munich parted company with Julian Nagelsmann, they did so with Thomas Tuchel in mind, but the Spaniard would have been an exceptional choice too.
And now, with Graham Potter out Chelsea after a home defeat to Aston Villa, Luis Enrique will almost certainly be in the frame for the job at Stamford Bridge if it becomes available. Todd Boehly, the leader of the Blues ownership consortium, had been steadfast in his belief in Potter since his appointment back in September.
Pressure was building from disgruntled fans and the media; it seemed as though Chelsea were desperate to give him every opportunity, until they weren’t. Potter leaves with his reputation still in tact despite his own poor performance. Going into the job at Stamford Bridge, leaving behind a very good project at Brighton, he was seeking assurances that he could build for the long term. A huge amount of money was spent in January on players it was clear were not signed off by him, and there was no time for him to find the right formula. It took him a couple of years at Brighton, but he was never going to get that at Chelsea. He departs having failed, but not because of his coaching ability; he earned a shot at a Champions League club but made a poor choice in which one.
If Boehly wants to change the culture at Chelsea from the ‘instant gratification’ nature of the Roman Abramovich era, he needs to hold his nerve much better than he has. There needs to be much more depth to the decision making in general.
Sacking Tuchel, Potter’s predecessor, a week after signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the striker he needed and knew from his time at Borussia Dortmund, and then saying the decision was accumulative, speaks volumes of the poor leadership. Before anything, though, there needs to be an understanding of the kind of manager who will actually work well at Chelsea.
It is a volatile club, almost uniquely so. While most of their rivals are looking to create identities, philosophies and cultures, Chelsea have always been about winning immediately. Boehly may want to change that, but after two decades of sacking managers and winning, that approach is so ingrained in the club psyche.
That’s why he needed to back Potter for longer, but the Englishman didn’t have the right temperament to succeed in such an environment. It is telling that the managers who have succeeded there have all got a certain swagger about them, able to manage big egos and get their approach across straight away. Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Carlo Ancelotti, while working in very different ways, have proven themselves in this sense. Potter is too passive and calm for that volatility, especially with such a big squad to manage.
That’s where Luis Enrique comes in. He is a three-year cycle coach, who specialises in dealing with big egos. At Barcelona, he ran a tight ship, even attempting to take on Lionel Messi before working through a difficult stage, finding a compromise and averting crisis to win the treble in his first full season. The turnaround back then was incredible, and shows that he could have a similarly instant impact in west London.
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague says that Luis Enrique has targeted the Premier League for his next job.
“He says he only reads English media,” said Balague. “He does want to move to the Premier League next but there’s a problem.
“There are not many jobs he would take because he only wants to go to a team that can win things or do interesting things and that does not leave a very big list.”
Despite everything, winning at Chelsea is not impossible. The squad is loaded with talent, and is set up to play in a way Luis Enrique would like to. There are plenty of technical and pacy forwards, and perhaps crucially, he is a manager who can utilise a false 9 system having done so at times with Barcelona and Spain. Tuchel and Potter both looked to do that, and goals have long been an issue for Chelsea.
There are links with Julian Nagelsmann and Mauricio Pochettino, coaches who, like Potter, like to build foundations. It feels as though Chelsea are attempting that in name only, with their ruthless decision to sack two managers who do the same, and oversaturate the squad with too many players. Most of the coaches they claim to want to attract like to keep tight squads and use as few players as possible.
Chelsea need to think in terms of three-year cycles again. They need a principled, purposeful appointment, with the new man able to manage egos and make an instant impact. Luis Enrique wants a team he can deliver for, and the Blues job feels like a good fit for him.
