Only the grass in Atlanta gives Luis Enrique cause for concern
In the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup, Champions League winners Paris St. Germain face Bayern Munich. Luis Enrique expects a high-quality match—will the pitch be able to keep up?
Luis Enrique will face FC Bayern in a competitive match for the fourth time as head coach. IMAGO/NurPhoto
Some PSG players still remember November 26th of last year with nostalgia. The Parisians lost 1-0 to Munich on Matchday 5 of the Champions League group stage, ultimately winning thanks to Min-Jae Kim's decisive goal. Striker Bradley Barcola, for example, said he was out for "revenge" ahead of the reunion on Saturday (6 p.m. CEST). His coach, however, only partially shared this sentiment.
"For me, it's a little different," explainedLuis Enrique , who faces Bayern Munich for the fourth time in his coaching career (one win, two losses). "I don't have any feelings of revenge. Revenge for what? For a game in the league phase (of the Champions League, ed. )? For me, it's not about revenge. We're motivated for this game because it's a semifinal in this new competition. That's enough for me."
After a "very long week" and a six-day break, the 55-year-old sees his team ready to face "one of the best teams in this competition and in Europe." "I think it will be a great contest," Luis Enrique said, anticipating the match at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Speaking of Atlanta: PSG had already secured their place in the next round in their round of 16 match against Inter Miami ( 4-0 ) – and yet the Spanish coach probably wouldn't have objected to a different venue. It wasn't the first time he criticized the pitch conditions in the stadiums, having personally inspected the surface of the Mercedes Benz Stadium shortly before the press conference.
"It's worse than in the previous game against Inter Miami," was the PSG coach's sobering conclusion. But: "I hope things will improve tomorrow with a little watering—we'll see."
Do the details ultimately matter?This would, of course, be desirable, as spectators hope to see the technical skills of both teams, just as the two reigning champions regularly demonstrated last season.
Luis Enrique, in any case, expects a match on equal terms that will feature "attack after attack." "I don't think we'll have as much control as we usually do in our games. So it will be a more open and potentially more entertaining game," the Spaniard speculated.
