Enrique says he is ready to jump back into club management after World Cup exit
Ex-Spain coach Luis Enrique is already gearing up for a new challenge at club level after his four-year spell in charge of the national side ended last week following their World Cup exit.
Enrique was sacked on Thursday after Spain lost on penalties to Morocco in the last 16, with the country’s under-21 manager Luis de la Fuente named as his replacement.
‘I want to coach, I see myself wanting to take on a club and be able to develop with greater finesse and precision what I have not been able to do in the national side,’ Luis Enrique said in a Twitch interview with internet celebrity Ibai Llanos.
The 52-year-old who has previously spoken about his interest in working in the Premier League continued: ‘(But) I will probably wait for next season. This morning I was told I’ve been signed up for a mountain bike race that I’m going to do with my brother.’
And reflecting on Spain’s elimination, he went on: ‘In 90 minutes, everything went to hell. It is clear that we did not play a good game against Morocco.
‘I saw it positively. Right now I am calm and satisfied with what we have done. We generated enthusiasm and desire to see the national team.
‘We have seen it. Many young people and children came to see us at the hotel. We could do better, I am aware, but I tried to take the best players and those who embodied my ideas.
‘I make the decisions with my staff. Nobody makes recommendations to me, nobody from the press has dedicated even 10 per cent of the hours that my staff and I have dedicated.’
Enrique added that he was offered the chance to extend his Spain contract after Euro 2020, which was played in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic, when Spain were eliminated on penalties by eventual champions Italy in the semi-finals but he refused.
‘I said that the best thing to do was to finish the World Cup (first),’ he said. ‘I think it makes more sense. (Otherwise) they renew you before a big event, as a reinforcement, but if it goes wrong they will have to compensate you.
‘Here they simply (needed to) tell me that I was not going to renew and the contract is over.
‘I thought I was going to have to make a decision (about my future) but I didn’t even need to.’
The 52-year-old former Barcelona player and coach added that it was the first time in his managerial career that his contract would not be extended.
‘I prefer it that way,’ Luis Enrique said. ‘If there is no more trust and the thought that you are not the right person then I am happy to move on.’
