Former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique reveals bullish team talk ahead of 2015 UCL final
Former Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has revealed inspirational details of the club's emphatic Champions League victory against Juventus in 2015.
In an interview with Barcelona TV, Enrique spoke about the pre-match discussion he had with his illustrious Barcelona team and the effect that his words had over some players in the squad.
The Spanish coach revealed that he discussed possible outcomes of a battle against Juventus prior to the fixture and the resulting takeaways from the discussion boosted the confidence and morale of his Barcelona side.
"I remember, half-jokingly, I asked the players: 'what do you think is the worst thing that can happen to us today?'"
Barcelona's famed tiki-taka had already reached its peak under the club's former managers Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova. Luis Enrique inherited a formidable Barcelona squad and made a few tweaks to the side's tactics to make them more potent in the final third.
As evidenced by Xavi's response to his manager's question, however, Barcelona was clearly still devoted to the philosophy of 'Juego de Posicion' championed by Cruyff and Guardiola.
"Someone or other started off. Xavi Hernandez, Dani Alves, the veterans: 'The worst thing is that we're not faithful to our style'. All things to do with football."
Juventus was terrified of facing Barcelona, according to Luis Enrique
Barcelona was one of the best teams in the world in the 2014/15 season and had stormed its way into the Champions League final.
Luis Enrique spoke of Barcelona's immense squad depth and told his players that Juventus would not be relishing the prospect of going up against the Catalan club.
"Imagine you have to mark Suarez, Ney, Leo, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets; try to score against Marc-Andre Ter Stegen; Alvaro Morata, try to score up against Javier Mascherano and Gerard Pique; Patrice Evra, try to defend against Dani Alves."
"I said: 'the worst thing is to be a Juve player and have to face Barcelona!'"
Luis Enrique was of the opinion that Juventus was genuinely scared of Barcelona. The Catalans had quality all over the pitch and their path to the Champions League final in Berlin had seen several European giants crumble to the ground.
The likes of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich were taken to the sword by Barcelona's feared 'MSN' trio. With Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez forming the team's attacking trident, Barcelona was a clear favourite against Juventus.
Bayern Munich, in particular, was massacred by a certain Lionel Messi in the semi-final of the 2014/15 Champions League competition. While the Germans did stage a comeback in the second leg, Neymar's brace was more than sufficient to take Barcelona to the showpiece event in Berlin.
Barcelona's final against Juventus ended with a predictable scoreline of 3-1 in favour of the Catalans. Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring within minutes of the opening whistle and Barcelona went into half-time with a 1-0 lead.
Former Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata restored parity in the second half to make it 1-1 but Barcelona's potency in the final third proved too much of a challenge for the Bianconeri. Luis Suarez and Neymar fed off Lionel Messi to add to the scoreline and secure Barcelona its fifth UEFA Champions League trophy.
'MSN' flourished Luis Enrique. With an astonishing 122 goals in all competitions in the 2014/15 season, the trio remains one of the most dangerous attacking lineups the world of football has ever seen.