Barcelona appoint Enrique as new coach

Just two days after ending a first season in six years
without a major trophy, Barcelona have turned to one of
their own in former captain Luis Enrique to restore the
glory days at the Camp Nou.
The move to go for someone who has plenty of playing
and coaching experience at the club comes as little
surprise after an ill-fated season for Argentine Gerardo
Martino.
Hired just two weeks before the campaign began due to
Tito Vilanova's sudden resignation as he fought a battle
with cancer, Martino proved to be out of his depth at
one of the biggest clubs in the world in his first
experience of European football as a coach.
While he was winning at the beginning of the season,
Martino's preference for a more direct style of play
came under criticism. In the second part of the
campaign as the results got progressively worse, it was
his inability to man-manage the conflicting egos within
the squad that came under the spotlight.
The Barca board's bet is that Enrique can fulfil both
these criteria. He made over 200 appearances for the
club in six years after joining from eternal rivals Real
Madrid in 1996 and also had great success in three
seasons in charge of Barca B coach.
The 44-year-old succeeded Pep Guardiola as Barca B
coach and led them back to the second tier of Spanish
football for the first time in 11 years in his second
season. Even more impressively they were to finish third
in the Segunda Division in Enrique's final season in
charge, although they weren't allowed to take their
place in the promotion playoffs as B teams cannot be
promoted to the top tier.
Within the club the feeling was that Enrique was being
groomed as the eventual successor to Guardiola.
However, he was tempted by an offer to take over
Italian giants Roma for the 2011-12 season.
"When Roma got to know me, they got to know me as
an offensive coach who likes to attack, who likes good
football," Enrique said at the time.
"The important thing is that the fans come to watch us,
that they enjoy themselves. It's a very attractive way of
playing. We will play on the attack. I don't consider
football any other way."
That dedication to attacking football is what makes him
a perfect fit for the Camp Nou hot seat, even if it didn't
lead to great success in the Italian capital as Enrique
left after just one season when Roma failed to qualify
for any European competition.
Indeed he would have been one of the favourites to take
charge last summer had he not agreed to take over at
Celta Vigo just weeks before Vilanova's resignation.
However, a season's stay in Galicia has enhanced his
reputation as a manager in the top flight of Spanish
football as he led Celta to ninth place, their highest
finish in eight years.
Mathematically ending Real Madrid's La Liga title hopes
by beating Los Blancos 2-0 a fortnight ago also
strengthened Enrique's case, as did his handling of on-
loan Barca midfielder Rafinha Alcantara in a season in
which the Brazilian has flourished.
Crucially, Enrique also has a hard side that will allow
him to take a more disciplinarian stance than that
offered by Martino as standards started to slip over the
past six months.
However, unlike Guardiola, he is taking over a club in
transition with many key players leaving or coming
towards the end of their time in the Catalan capital
rather than their prime.
Victor Valdes and captain Carles Puyol have played their
last games for the club, while another pillar of their
recent success Xavi Hernandez is now 34 and was
benched by Martino for Barca's final two games of the
season.
Enrique's task is to mould Barca's disparate collection
of younger stars, led by Neymar and Lionel Messi into a
side that can once again dominate on the domestic and
European stage.