All things are going very well for FC Barcelona right now. They are currently the league leaders in the league, are scheduled to face Athletic Bilbao on the Copa del Rey finals and have also advanced to the semis of the Champions League. Last year, the Catalans have failed to win any trophy, but this year, the prospect of a treble is very much possible. Many experts credit the club’s new manager Luis Enrique as the mastermind behind Barcelona’s resurgence this season.
Luis Enrique was appointed as the new manager of Barcelona last year after Tata Martino resigned from the position. Martino was forced to resign after failing to win any silverware in the 2013-14 season. Before him, the late Tito Villanova also spent just one year doing the managerial duties at Barca. Tito was forced to leave his position because of his worsening health condition. On his appointment, Enrique became the third manager of Barca in just three years.
Barcelona was in a downturn after Pep Guardiola left the club in the summer of 2012. Barca desperately needed a manager who’ll be able to bring back stability and glory to the club. The bosses at Camp Nou turned to Luis Enrique and he didn’t disappoint them. He now has the best 50 game start in Barcelona’s history breaking the record of one his predecessors, Pep Guardiola. Barca have won 42 in 50 matches so far this season under Enrique. He also has only lost five matches in 50 matches as head of the Blaugrana. Despite having a controversial row with Messi late last year and criticisms of some of his picks for the starting eleven of the team, Enrique’s record this season is still the best.
In the Champions League, he has only lost once in ten matches so far. But his toughest test as the team’s manager for this tournament will take place next month when Barcelona face Bayern Munich in the semis. He’ll be up against his former teammate Pep Guardiola, who’s now the manager of Bayern. This will be a very interesting match-up as this will be the second time that these two clubs will meet in the semis of the tournament in two years.
In 2013, Bayern hammered Barca in both legs and won their semifinal series with an aggregate score of 7-0. Enrique now has the opportunity to lead Barça to avenge their humiliating semifinal loss to Bayern two years ago. He hasn’t disappointed anyone so far. Hopefully he’ll also help Barca overcome Bayern this time.
