Since the beginning of his coaching career, Luis Enrique had more encounters only with Ernesto Valverde (17) than with Diego Simeone. Paris Saint-Germain boss has a positive head-to-head against both of them, but the duels against the Argentinian carry a special charm. First and foremost, because Enrique was on the verge of becoming Atletico Madrid head coach back in 2011.The manager of Barcelona B at the time was Los Colchoneros’ first choice, but the Spaniard had a deal with Roma. He chose to keep the word he gave to the Giallorossi and reject the invitation from Madrid. Instead of him, Gregorio Manzano sat on Atletico’s bench, only to be replaced by Diego Simeone only a few months later.Enrique happy to extend at PSGCholo would have certainly got a chance to try his luck in Europe regardless of Los Colchoneros’ call given that he was a double champion of Argentina with Estudiantes and River Plate, but the history of the Madrid side would have been completely different. There wouldn’t have been a 13-year-long cooperation, during which Atletico were Spanish champions twice, played two Champions League finals, and won two UEFA Europa Leagues.”I had given my word to another club. If I had gone to Atleti, I would not have stayed half as long as Simeone because I don’t have the energy as him. They are lucky to have found Simeone as a coach. You need a lot of energy, to be able to convince all your players over the long-term,” Enrique said ahead of tonight’s match (23.00).3 – Luis Enrique 🇪🇸 has lost three of his 14 games against @Atletienglish in all competitions as a manager (W9 D2 L3), only against Athletic Club has he lost more times in his entire career as a manager (four). Alternative?#AtleticoMadrid ❤🤍#ChampionsLeague #PSGATM pic.twitter.com/mBDy8A6G0L— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 6, 2024 Their playing days aside, this will be the 15th meeting of the Spanish and Argentinian strategists. Enrique is far more successful, with nine victories, while Simeone has only three. The current PSG boss noted most of those triumphs leading Barcelona with the popular “MSN” trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar.The three have been dancing on both Spanish and European fields, all until Simeone’s warriors stopped them in the second leg of the 2016 Champions League quarter-finals. The club from Madrid compensated the 2-1 defeat with a 2-0 victory, scheduling the clash with Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich.Young blood PSG defender blending in perfectly with his experienced mentorAtletico eventually reached the grand final in which they lost to their city rivals Real on penalties, while Enrique failed to become the first-ever manager to win the Champions League two times in a row with the same club. Instead of him, Zinedine Zidan did it, winning three consecutive UCL trophies with Los Blancos.Since then Enrique and Simeone had four more encounters, in which the Spaniard’s Barca won twice, while two times their games ended in draws. Still, it was a poor consolation for the previous elimination. Hence, Enrique won’t need additional motivation for tonight’s game against Cholo’s Atletico, especially since the Saints desperately need three points, just like their rivals.Atlético Madrid will play against PSG in an official match for the first time in football history. pic.twitter.com/Uf3f4rPTcS— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) November 6, 2024 After the initial three rounds, Los Colchoneros have only three points and the Parisians four – far from expected. Considering that the competition has reached its halfway mark, every point will be essential for direct qualification to the Round of 16.Each gaffer faces certain squad problems, but it seems that Simeone’s situation is worse, given that – apart from Robin Le Normand, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Marcos Llorente – he’ll also miss his currently best defender, Jose Maria Gimenez, who’s suspended due to excessive bookings.Emotional Omorodion on his time in Madrid: ‘I cried a lot at night’The Saints boss won’t be able to count on Presnel Kimbembe, Lucas Hernandez, and Goncalo Ramos. In addition, the change between the posts is possible since Matvei Safonov kept the only PSG’s clean sheet in the UCL (against Girona), while the defeat to Arsenal and draw with PSV came behind Gianluigi Donnarumma’s weak performances.”You will find out tomorrow. After a good cup of cappuccino, I will decide who the goalkeeper is,” Enrique said at the pre-match press conference.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – ROUND 4TuesdayPSV – Girona 4-0 (2-0)/Flamingo 16, Tillman 33, Bakayoko 83, Krejci 88 og/Slovan B. – Dinamo Zagreb 1-4 (1-2)/Strelec 5 – Spikic 10, Sucic 30, Kulenovic 54,72/Bologna – Monaco 0-1 (0-0)/Keher 86/Celtic – RB Leipzig 3-1 (2-1)/Kuhn 35, 45+1, Hatate 72 – Baumgartner 23/Dortmund – Sturm 1-0 (0-0)/Malen 85/Lille – Juventus 1-1 (1-0)/David 27 – Vlahovic 60 pen/Liverpool – Leverkusen 4-0 (0-0)/Diaz 61,63, 81, Gakpo 63/Real Madrid – Milan 1-3 (1-2)/Vinicius Jr 23 pen – Thiaw 12, Morata 39, Reijnders 73/Sporting – Manchester City 4-1 (1-1)/Gyokeres 38, 49 pen, 80 pen, Araujo 46 – Foden 4/Wednesday20:45: (3.50) Club Brugge (3.45) Aston Villa (2.10)20:45: (2.05) Shakhtar (3.45) Young Boys (3.60)23:00: (1.35) Bayern (5.80) Benfica (9.00)23:00: (18.0) Crvena Zvezda (7.20) Barcelona (1.20)23:00: (1.60) Feyenoord (4.00) Salzburg (5.70)23:00: (2.65) Inter (3.35) Arsenal (2.85)23:00: (1.73) PSG (3.75) Atl.Madrid (4.80)23:00: (2.45) Sparta Praha (3.35) Brest (2.90)23:00: (2.45) Stuttgart (3.75) Atalanta (2.85)***odds are subject to change***
