World Cup 2022: Inside the world of Spain manager Luis Enrique - via Twitch - BBC Sport

World Cup 2022: Inside the world of Spain manager Luis Enrique - via Twitch

Guillem Balague's BBC Sport column
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As Spain prepare for Tuesday's World Cup last-16 match against Morocco, much of the country's focus is falling on boss Luis Enrique and his decision to speak about anything and everything on the streaming site Twitch.

Across the country, hundreds of thousands have been tuning in to his almost daily broadcasts - as the former Spain midfielder sits in a gaming chair with a headset, answering any questions that come his way.

As well as finding out about his footballing philosophy, we have also learned he eats six eggs a day, he hates cheese - despite hailing from Asturias, the dairy capital of Spain - what his favourite restaurants are and that he sleeps naked.

While the fans and media hang on to the Spanish coach's every word, they are leaving his talented bunch of elite footballers to concentrate on the main task in hand - winning Spain's second World Cup.

His reasons for his regular streams? He wants to change people's perception of him.

"Speaking to you all has been a great surprise," he said. "Up to now, your opinion of me has been conditioned by when you have seen me with the press. Now there are no filters. It also helps me receive information, affection, criticism, questions, from all you.

"I don't pretend to like everyone... no-one is perfect; we all have our defects. But what has surprised me most is the energy I have received from you. I now have more backers than I have ever had in my whole life.

"If we win the World Cup, I will answer all the questions you put forward - most of which I know will be about sex. I will answer everything."

So let's delve into the world of Enrique in his own words, from questions put to him by his followers.

'Analysing what you should have done after the event is easy'

Luis Enrique on his prickly relationship with the media: "I don't read the opinions of the journalists - not because of a lack of respect, but because, logically, they haven't dedicated even 10% of the time, nor do they have the information, that my staff and I have on any given issue.

"Analysing what you should have done after the event is easy. Coaches and those who have the task of having to make the decisions need to make them when there are many things going on. I am used to that - it is a vital part of my job and I enjoy it.

"If, for example, I make a wrong decision - say, with a substitution - I take it on board as just one of those things because there is no point beating yourself up about it. The important thing is to make a decision at the precise moment when you don't know what is going to happen."

'I am that stupid'

How does he see himself as a coach? "I am a modest man with my feet on the ground - but, clearly, I think I am a good coach because if I didn't I wouldn't do this job.

"I am a very competitive person and the worse things are, the more my competitive gene rises to the surface. I am more comfortable when I have to deal with problems. That is my essence, in the difficult moments. I'm that stupid.

"Football is my passion, my life, and I have been very fortunate to have been able to play football. I like very much being a coach, but it has been more difficult to enjoy."

What does he need to improve as a coach? "Everything. I am super critical of myself. When I say something to a player twice and he still doesn't do it, I need to realise that the fault is not his but mine for not explaining it properly. [So I] change the way I get my message across."

Many of Luis Enrique's coaching attitudes stem from his time as a youngster at Sporting Gijon from where he was unceremoniously dumped after playing very little for two seasons because he was deemed to be too thin and small.

"Those coaches that sacrifice the child's development for the vanity of trophies and their own progression in the game, should not be involved in youth football."

'Why bore them? It will be my fault if we lose'

What is good about Luis Enrique's squad and backroom team? "Once you have picked a player because of his ability, then it is also important that this should be accompanied by the right personality.

"I'm not saying that everyone here has to be submissive - in fact, I like someone with personality, with character. I want someone who will be able to represent the country properly, something that will be useful for now but also for future generations.

"We know how we want to play to own the ball and that the rival should tire himself out going in search of it. The idea is to try to dominate the game from start to finish. It will be my fault if we lose."

When talking about Spain's style, which sees them playing from the back, he is unapologetic.

"Of course, it is risky when you play from the back, but when you balance that style against others, it's a risk worth taking because it sets the play in those areas where we are strongest. I pick players who are happier with the ball than they are without it. I know people think that when you have the ball you should clear it as far as you can, but the ball comes back at you within 20 seconds.

"Never forget that this is a show and very often we're are obsessed with winning. We believe there are more options to win by playing well, by using a style that is entertaining for both the player and the spectator."

"I believe, in football, we seem to have lost our way. The first thing coaches should be taught is that this is a show, a spectacle. There are 50,000, 100,000 people in a stadium and millions watching at home, they are an important part of what we do. We play for them - so why bore them?"

Tragedy and the importance of family

Throughout his broadcasts, Luis Enrique has been keen to reiterate the importance of every person in the Spanish camp: "In addition to the coach and 26 players, there are also about 60 people involved in the operation. Physios, doctors, team managers, travel organisers, cooks - we are home from home; it's a family."

When Enrique says "family, there through the good and the bad times, are your friends, they are always with you - that is the foundation of a team", you sense he isn't just talking about football.

Family is, in fact, the thing that matters most to him. The cruelties of life have served to remind him what is most important. He always had his priorities more than clear, but the death of his beloved nine-year-old daughter from bone cancer reinforced them like nothing else could have.

Spain faced Germany on what would have been Xana's 13th birthday. In an Instagram video while riding his bike, he said: "Love, wherever you are, many kisses from us, have a great day! We love you!"

His approach to that tragedy, giving normality and calmness to something that derails so many, has been one of many examples that he is a different person to the one the public has seen.

For him, football is a game, watched by many, a high-profile job - but never a matter of life and death. "Always remember, out of 32 teams there will only be one winner. At the end of it all, your family is always there."

'I like to see the players laughing and dancing'

The Spain coach talks a lot about the psychological side of the game: "If the player can see that you are relaxed then that gets transmitted to them.

"I like the players to listen to music on the bus on the way to the game and in the dressing room. After all it's a party. In my day, it used to bother some of the people I used to work with.

"If we were all sitting in silence, I used to say: 'Are we all going to an abattoir?' This is a celebration and I like to see the players laughing, dancing.

"The player that wants to pray, let him. Meditate, but also smile, laugh, joke, up until the game."

Football is not his only pursuit

What does he do away from football? "I always do some sport when I get up. There is not a day that passes when I don't do something. Half an hour, 15 minutes, whatever. I think it is vital for me to be able to do my job properly, and be happy with my own state of being. It is also a healthy way to achieve a positive dynamic.

"I don't diet, I eat the food that I like and that is healthy. The players had a barbecue yesterday. If they want, they can have a small glass of wine, but normally they drink water.

It's not about enforcing stupid rules. What's the point of me telling a player not to have a beer and then he goes home and drinks five?"

Nothing is off limits in these conversations. Asked about sex before matches, he says: "The team is obviously in their hotel, away from everything, so clearly that is not possible - but it is a very normal activity, isn't it?

"When they are at their clubs, the players will sleep in their own homes. It's about common sense, players being with their partners within the parameters of normality. I believe people should live their lives normally. As a player, when we weren't at a preparation camp, whenever I could with my wife we did what we had to do."

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