It was perhaps inevitable that Paris Saint-Germain's desperate thirst for UEFA Champions League success would eventually turn their attention towards the man partly responsible for the source of their enduring continental trauma -- Remontada back in 2017. By reuniting Luis Enrique with Neymar at Parc des Princes this week, the French champions now have the two main protagonists from that chastening defeat at Spotify Camp Nou within their ranks and tasked with overcoming the inferiority complex that has set in over these past six years.
Christophe Galtier was unable to follow-up on a strong first half of the 2022-23 season in Paris, with a disastrous second part, destroying all hope of UCL and Coupe de France glory while a historic 11th Ligue 1 title was barely secured ahead of impressive RC Lens. Luis Enrique was Spain's head coach during the FIFA 2022 World Cup which put paid to PSG's hopes for the campaign, and sent the likes of Kylian Mbappe, eventual winner Lionel Messi and Neymar back to the French capital emotionally or physically divorced from their pre-Qatar club exploits.
The 53-year-old Roja side went goal crazy in their opening game with a 7-0 win over Costa Rica before finishing second in Group E behind Japan before falling to Morocco on penalties in the round of 16 as current PSG players Achraf Hakimi and Carlos Soler came up against each other. Soler and former Parisien teammate Pablo Sarabia missed two of three Spanish spot kicks in a goal shy encounter while Hakimi converted the winner as the Atlas Lions advanced towards history and an eventual semifinal loss to Mbappe's beaten finalists France.
Luis Enrique was quick to step down as Spain boss and has since been linked with a number of top coaching roles including Chelsea before former PSG tactician Mauricio Pochettino was handed his next posting at Stamford Bridge one year on from his Paris exit. The man from Gijon is the fourth head coach since compatriot and Remontada victim Unai Emery was replaced with Thomas Tuchel faring better with PSG than his predecessor by reaching the 2020 Champions League final although triumph only came for the German with the Blues later.
Pochettino and Galtier took turns at failing to even return this Parisien side to the levels it showed under Tuchel, yet the decision to go for Luis Enrique actually makes a surprising amount of sense when you consider what the Ligue 1 titleholders are now after. PSG are pursuing a new policy of building towards UCL success by placing greater importance on quality young French players hailing from the renowned Paris region talent basin wherever possible, in a bid to avoid future costly mistakes such as Neymar's world-record arrival and Messi's brief stint.
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Luis Enrique not only has Champions League-winning pedigree from his 2015 success with Barcelona, but he has also got the best out of the fallen Brazilian superstar in Catalonia and has even gone on to lead a youth revolution during his time in charge of Spain. That Barca triumph eight years ago in Berlin with a 3-1 win over Juventus remains Neymar's only European victory so far despite his talent hinting that it would be the first of many at that time before he opted to move out of Messi's shadow in 2017 following his key role in Remontada.
Now 31, Neymar was just 23 back then and he hit 10 goals during the 2015 UCL edition which included five against PSG alone over two quarterfinal legs and a pair of meetings in Group F of which Laurent Blanc's side only won one of four total meetings. This Champions League title flies under the radar when considering Luis Enrique's career so far as does 2015 being a treble year along with La Liga and Copa del Rey success which was still followed by a domestic double in 2016 as part of an overall haul of nine trophies in less than three full years.
That so much of the former AS Roma and Celta Vigo man's story from that time is seemingly forgotten is testament to just how much has happened to Barca, PSG and Neymar in the years since to consign what are some incredible achievements by an outstanding team to history. Luis Enrique now being known for his faith in youth after his international foray actually makes him arguably the best possible candidate given the circumstances for PSG which could yield surprise results depending on the squad Luis Campos builds for him.
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If Neymar can be rehabilitated to anything close to his incredible 2015 self and paired with an invested Mbappe as part of a new-look attack, then Messi will not truly be missed and the French giants could actually thrive domestically and continentally and hope to return to Europe's elite.
