Luis Enrique, considered one of the most demanding coaches in world football, is known for his extremely strict and ruthless methods. Former Barcelona and PSG midfielder Rafinha revealed how grueling the training sessions under the Spanish tactician were. The Brazilian player worked with Luis Enrique at both Celta and Barcelona, describing the coach's approach to physical conditioning as "crazy." This is reported by Goal.com .
Rafinha expressed relief that he did not join the coach during his first year with the Barcelona first team. According to him, the training sessions at that time resembled real military training. "I'm lucky I arrived in his second year. The first year was mountains, relentless physical labor... it was just terrifying. My brother told me everything, it was like army drills," the player says.
Luis Enrique implemented such heavy workloads to ensure his team would outperform opponents in the final minutes of the game. Rafinha recalls the coach's philosophy: "He always said: 'If you reach the physical level I want, when everyone else is tired and stopping in the 70th minute, we will continue at high speed'. And it worked exactly as he said."
Beyond physical pressure, Luis Enrique is also known for his blunt criticism. He never shied away from telling players their flaws to their faces. Rafinha noted that the coach's sharp rebukes, such as "You are playing terribly, you need to do much better, we won't achieve anything at this rate," always kept the team on their toes.
Although the coach's style is extremely strict, Rafinha highly praised his ability to explain the game. In his opinion, Luis Enrique is a specialist who can convey his ideas very clearly and understandably. Such tension between the coach and players served as a necessary factor for achieving success at big clubs like Barcelona.
Read “Zamin” on Telegram!
