Spain will be going into the World Cup in Qatar as dark horses for the competition, with no doubt that they can beat anyone on their day. What works in their favour is that few squads at the tournament can be as behind their manager as Spain are behind Luis Enrique Martinez.
At least that is the case with their star midfielder, Pedri. The youngster made his international debut a little over 18 months ago but has already become a fixture in the team. During last summer’s European championship, Pedri was essential for Luis Enrique, playing nearly every minute, despite coming though three sets of extra time.
Speaking to Marca, Pedri explained what it was that he most liked about Luis Enrique’s management.
“Above all, his way of communicating things. He can tell you to jump off a cliff, but he says it in a way that convinces you that you have to do it and that it will work out.”
As tends to be the case with Luis Enrique in every situation, he leaves no room for doubt.
“He always gives us concrete messages so that we know what we have to do. I agree. If you give a very long message, the player can make a mistake or end up thinking something else. He is the other way around, he tells us the things that have to be done and he also tells us what is going to happen. And then you see that he is right.”
The Asturian coach has also garnered something of a reputation for inventive training methods. At the Las Rozas base, he had a tower built by the pitch so he could watch training from a height, a giant screen installed next to the pitch so he could explain concepts and put them into practice in training. Most recently, he had microphones installed so that from his tower, Luis Enrique could talk to his players in real-time.
“They are different things, yes. Every time you arrive at a camp he surprises you with something, he always has something new. The last thing was that strange earpiece. It’s hard to be in training and hear Luis Enrique’s voice behind you. It is different.”
Many felt Spain unfortunate to be eliminated by Italy last summer during the Euros and if they can produce similar performances to that one, La Roja they will stand a good chance in Qatar.
