In Luis Enrique's new-look PSG, the coach is the superstar

In the new-look Paris Saint-Germain side that made it to this weekend's Champions League final, the superstar is no longer on the pitch but instead in the dugout.

In transforming a team not always taken seriously by their rivals into arguably the most feared side on the continent, PSG coach Luis Enrique has also revived his own reputation after being sacked from his previous job.

Now 55, Luis Enrique was appointed in July 2023, just after Lionel Messi left the French side following an underwhelming two-year spell. Neymar then departed later that summer.

The former Barcelona boss was dismissed by Spain six months earlier after their disappointing exit from the 2022 World Cup to Morocco in the last 16.

The PSG job appeared something of a poisoned chalice, with his predecessors unable to deliver the success in the Champions League that the club's Qatari owners desired.

The team was handicapped by the presence of Neymar, Messi and Kylian Mbappe all together, three great forwards who naturally did not much care for defending.

With the first two gone and Mbappe's eventual departure inevitable, Luis Enrique understood he would be allowed time to mould a team in his shape.

"We are in the middle of building a new identity, our own style and way of playing, and a new culture," PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said early last season, adding that winning the Champions League was no longer "something we are obsessed with".

Last year they still reached the semifinals in Europe before losing to Borussia Dortmund – with a domestic league and cup double also in the bag, it was a promising start for the new coach.

The problem was that Mbappe, with his contract expiring, was on the way out. Yet the manager kept insisting PSG would be better without their all-time top scorer.

"If everything goes well I'm convinced we'll have a much better team than this year," Luis Enrique said in February 2024.

It was hard to believe at the time, even less so after PSG opted last summer not to sign a new striker.

Luis Enrique insists on playing a style of football characterised by dominating possession as well as high-octane pressing.

But his critics have accused him of being stubborn and rigidly sticking to one way of playing, even when it is not working.

"Luis Enrique had a very clear game plan, and when plan A didn't work, there was no plan B," Spain's Iago Aspas said of his former coach.

BETTER WITHOUT MBAPPE

Earlier this season PSG were dominating games but not scoring, and Luis Enrique's refusal to play with a traditional centre-forward appeared mistaken.

When one interviewer questioned his tactics following a defeat to Arsenal, the coach's response seemed arrogant and unpleasant.

"I have no intention of explaining my tactics to you. You wouldn't understand," he said.

A defeat against Bayern Munich in November left PSG in danger of going out of the Champions League early, but the turnaround since has been remarkable.

His energetic young side suffocated Manchester City before they saw off Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal in a triumphant tour of England.

The decision to play without a recognised No 9? No problem. Instead he turned winger Ousmane Dembele into a lethal finisher with 33 goals this season.

PSG really are better without Mbappe, and Luis Enrique deserves huge credit for that.

Now he is one game away from joining an elite group of coaches to have won the Champions League twice.

His last success was in 2015 when he led a Barcelona side spearheaded by Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez to the title.

"Getting to a Champions League final is always difficult. All players and coaches dream of it, but not everyone gets there," said the Asturian.

"The job I did at Barca was extraordinary. Even if people said it was easy to win the Champions League with that team, it wasn't."

After three years at Barcelona he had two spells in charge of Spain, taking a time out in 2019 when his daughter Xana died of bone cancer.

Now he believes the experience of those years has helped him become a better coach in Paris.

"I have more experience now. I remember before my first final I was really stressed," he said.

"This time I hope to transmit a message of calm. Otherwise I think I have learnt from my mistakes and that has helped me get where I am now."

KVARATSKHELIA EYES DOUBLE SUCCESS AT INTER'S EXPENSE

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has already played a part in denying Inter Milan the Serie A title this season, and the Georgian is now hoping to get the better of them again with Paris Saint-Germain in Saturday's Champions League final.

The 24-year-old Kvaratskhelia moved to Paris in January from Napoli for a reported €70 million ($79.2m) plus bonuses.

He is set to have a key role to play for Luis Enrique's side against Inter in Munich, despite missing last weekend's French Cup final victory over Reims as a precaution due to a minor fitness issue.

Perhaps he had been up late the previous night celebrating his former club's Serie A triumph, as Napoli pipped Inter to the Scudetto in their final game of the season.

Napoli's second Italian league championship in three campaigns was claimed despite 'Kvara', one of the stars of their title in 2023, leaving the team in the middle of the season.

Instrumental two years ago when he earned the nickname 'Kvaradona' at the club where Diego Maradona is an icon, he played a pivotal part in the early weeks of this season under Antonio Conte, scoring five goals in the first 10 Serie A games – only four Napoli players finished the campaign with more goals, including Scott McTominay.

Kvaratskhelia can therefore claim an Italian league winner's medal for this season as well as one for Ligue 1 for his contribution towards PSG's cruise to the domestic title.

However, his transfer to PSG has really aided the French side in Europe, where the extra competition for places in attack has helped bring the best out of fellow forwards Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Desire Doue.

The left-winger who loves to play with his socks rolled down around his ankles also fits perfectly into coach Luis Enrique's system, which demands that the attackers do their bit to help the team defensively.

"He is perfectly adaptable to our way of playing. He is versatile. He can go past players and he can also defend which is essential because we need to be able to defend as 11 players and attack as 11 players," Luis Enrique said in January.

"He fits into our idea of how to play football."

KEY FOR PSG ALREADY

Kvaratskhelia has so far contributed six goals and six assists in 24 appearances for PSG, including one magnificent strike against Aston Villa in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal and the pass to set up Dembele's winning goal away to Arsenal in the semis.

PSG had already started to turn a corner following a sluggish start this season when the former Rubin Kazan player arrived, but Luis Enrique is convinced Kvaratskhelia's presence has been essential in his team getting to Munich.

"If you analyse in depth how we have improved defensively, it comes down to the way the attackers help out. The way they defend is exceptional, and the statistics show how many balls they recover for us," the coach said last week.

The PSG boss still faces a difficult decision over which one of his four main attackers to leave out of the front three on the night – 33-goal top scorer Dembele is certain to start, meaning one of the in-form Doue or the lively Barcola will have to drop to the bench if Kvaratskhelia is to be in the starting XI.

But his experience of playing Inter could be invaluable, even if Simone Inzaghi's side fared well when they came up against him at Napoli.

Kvaratskhelia won just once in six clashes against the Nerazzurri with his former club, and has never scored against them.

"Technically he's a special player so it won't be easy," insisted Denzel Dumfries, Inter's Dutch right wing-back who is likely to be in direct opposition to Kvaratskhelia on the night.

Can Inter this time be celebrating at his expense or will Kvaratskhelia get his hands on another winner's medal on Saturday?