Luis Enrique and Tata Martino: The 10 differences

Luis Enrique has nothing to do with Gerardo Martino. Neither in substance nor in form. The circumstances with which they both took control of Barcelona were very different as well. And even though the season has only just began, we have already discovered 10 differences between the Asturian and the Argentine. They are:

1. Charisma. Luis Enrique played for Barça and won the hearts of the fans for his strength and compromise on the pitch. In both the Gamper and against Elche, Camp Nou has already sung his name. That was never the case with Tata Martino, who was unknown within Barcelonismo.

2. Speech. The press conferences of Luis Enrique generate excitement among the socios and the fans. Even among the media, too. He transmits energy and conviction. Tata always seemed lost in press conferences.

3. Training. Enrique's philosophy is "play as you train". And the application of the team every day is as important as in the matches. Training sessions demand maximum energy from the players, both physically and tactically. The team arrived at the beginning of the season much more prepared than last term.

4. Strategy. In contrast to Tata, Luis Enrique likes to work on strategic plays. Against Elche it was evident to see some significant details: From throw ins, to free kicks to corners, nothing was the same. He also likes his players to shoot at goal whenever they have the chance.

5. Tactics. Even though 4-3-3 is the basic system, Luis Enrique wants to introduce variants. Both depending on who the rival is and on the state of his players. The full-backs have a lot of importance when it comes to opening up the pitch. The team is much more compact, pressure has been recovered offensively and Ivan Rakitic offers some more direct solutions. Tata also wanted to make changes, but gave into pressure from some members of the team.

6. Conduct. Tata idolised some of the Barça players because he never imagined he would be coaching them. Now the players at Barça revere Luis Enrique (as they did with Pep Guardiola) because he is an idol at the club who won titles as a player at Camp Nou. The case of Xavi is the most clear, and shows that Enrique can conduct the club in a way Martino could not.

7. Hierarchy. With Luis Enrique there is no pre-established hierarchy. In the dressing room everyone is equal. If Munir El Haddadi has to play ahead of Pedro (like he did against Elche) then he will. And if Xavi has to remain on the bench so Rakitic can play, he will. We will see if the same is true with Gerard Pique and Jeremy Mathieu and Javier Mascherano.

8. Competitive. With Martino the 'names' played. With Luis Enrique the 'men' play. There is a fierce competitiveness among the players because they all want to play. And only those that deserve to will play. Rakitic, Mathieu and Luis Suarez are going to help in this strategy. One way of maintaining this healthy tension among the players is to never name the team until 90 minutes before kick off. Enrique wants all the players believing they can be starters.

9. Cantera. Luis Enrique has absolute confidence in the canteranos. We have already seen this with Munir, but also with Grimaldo, Sandro, Patric, Halilovic, Samper...

10. Messi. The No. 1 in the world has returned. And that, in part, is thanks to Luis Enrique. As well as overcoming his personal and physical problems, Messi now has a manager who makes demands because of what he is: the best footballer on the planet. Leo's fully behind the new project and that can only be good for him and for Barça.

 

That there are 10 differences (there could be more) doesn't mean, necessarily, that Tata Martino was the only one at fault for last season's failure. The Argentine coach arrived at the club in difficult circumstances and couldn't change the way things were heading. As Dani Alves recognised recently, the main blame lies with the players. They win and they lose.