Serious doubts with Luis Enrique

The renewal of Luis Enrique as national coach is not clear because in the Federation (RFEF) there are serious doubts with him. There are arguments in favor of it, but also against it, and some of them are very weighty. The president of the RFEF, Luis Rubiales, has a china in his shoe called the World Cup. The experience in Russia 2018 was negative and the experience in Qatar 2022, very similar. Luis Enrique has not improved Fernando Hierro, and that will weigh against him.

Another argument against the coach is that he did not want to accept the renewal when the RFEF offered it to him. He postponed the answer until after the World Cup, convinced that he was going to make history again. Now, with the bump in Doha, he has not only lost that strength, but has left it in the hands of José Francisco Molina, the RFEF sports director whom he made suffer with the postponement of his response. It was the first time that Spain has appeared in a World Cup with a coach with an expired contract.

But there are more reasons for the RFEF to doubt the advisability of renewing Luis Enrique. One of them is its price. He is not a cheap technician for the figures that are paid in the Selection. He earns more than double what Vicente del Bosque earned, and in Las Rozas they suspect that he would have jumped on the vine if he had been successful in the World Cup. In addition, the blow in Qatar will lower his own expectations and those of the teams that wanted him, including Atlético de Madrid. So what is foreseeable is that Luis Enrique does not renew, and that if he finally does, it will be downward. The more than three million a year that he earns for directing twelve games for the National Team is a good sum, and above all, it is an amount that Marcelino will willingly accept since he has rejected much better offers waiting for his opportunity to be a coach. More arguments against Luis Enrique are those referring to the problems he gives the Federation in its relations with the press. The eve of the game against Morocco, Luis Enrique had a controversial appearance. And Luis Rubiales does not want more open fronts.

Positive

But not everything is bad in the balance of Luis Enrique. The Asturian has done a good job in terms of the composition of a team. There are two ways to make a Selection: taking the best of each club and letting them do it or choosing those that serve the idea of ​​a coach. The Federation decided on this second option and Luis Enrique has not done badly in Europe, but when he has left the continent he has had serious difficulties.

In Qatar they have had two defeats against an Asian team, Japan, and an African team, Morocco. Both have something in common that Luis Enrique has not been able to achieve: combative spirit and national identity. The two also have another coincidence: their players have freedom in attack. They play with a system, of course, but also with a plus of freedom for their best men. Spain has not had that facility because the team has moved with the corset of Luis Enrique. In total, Qatar 2022 ends with a win (Costa Rica), a draw (Germany) and two losses (Japan and Morocco). A poor balance for a selector who was in no hurry to renew.