This is how Luis Enrique turned PSG into a perfect machine: "He's a leader who has earned credibility."

Three teams have dazzled in Europe: one across the entire continent and two others, primarily in their domestic competitions. PSG, Liverpool, and FC Barcelona have undergone a transformation from one year to the next. It hasn't been the players themselves who are responsible, but rather the arrival or consolidation of coaches who have imposed their ideas over the privileges of certain players.

The French team started the Club World Cup as they finished the season: winning. They've won every title this season and are favorites for this one as well. They did so, moreover, the very year Kylian Mbappé left the club. Luis Enrique had already warned that he would improve the team after the Frenchman's departure: "Having a player who moved wherever he wanted means that there are game situations that I don't control. This year I'm going to control them all. I prefer eleven players who think together to one who breaks the mold based on talent," he warned.

"It's easy to say, but the hard part is putting it on the pitch," praises Antonio Castaño , academic director of the RFEF's Coaching School, explaining: "Today, no one can afford to have players who don't participate in one phase of the game, the defensive one." And the PSG eleven did just that, and with flying colors. From the final against Inter Milan, many, like Castaño, remember Kvaratskhelia 's 70-meter runs to regain position more than his dribbling in the Italian box, as he also did against Atlético.

"A moment to lose her"

To name another name, Desiré Doué , although he didn't shine against the Rojiblancos, has one of the best defensive ratings on the Asturian's team. He's the sixth in winning the most disputes and the third in committing fouls. Castaño says that commitment can be summed up in one sentence: "He's a leader who has earned credibility," adding that this credibility "takes a lifetime to earn and an instant to lose." This World Cup and, especially, next season will have to be assessed, but it seems that faith in Luis Enrique is total.

The improvement in collective performance affects individual performance, and returning to Doué , the Frenchman has been the third player with the most appreciation in value this year, tied for second. His price has increased by 60 million euros, the same as that of Barcelona's Pedri . The one leading this ranking, of course, is another Barça player who has dazzled the world, Lamine Yamal , with a growth of 110 million euros.

Also in the top 20 are Cubarsí (6th, +50 million) and Raphinha (14th, +40 million), but there is no Barça player who hasn't seen a significant increase in value this year, and that's thanks to the arrival of Hansi Flick . "When a team works well as a whole, all the individuals benefit from their performance, and the level seems higher," explains Castaño .

And the German's team has been a clockwork, with a defense that, in the opinion of the RFEF's academic director, gave "a distressing feeling" due to its height. "The advantage is that you have more space to steal the ball from your opponent when you lose the ball," Castaño points out, and believes Flick "has exaggerated" Guardiola 's obsession with the 3-5, trying to steal the ball in less than three seconds and finishing in five.

There's a tactical issue, whether due to Luis Enrique 's time at Barcelona or the Asturian's influence, but both Barça and PSG tend to focus on their forwards rather than their defenders. "What we see on TV is where the ball is, but we don't see how adequate pressure up front pushes up the defensive line," the coach adds.

Beatles and Rolling Stones

Another team that has been built in the image of its manager is Arne Slot 's Liverpool. "A team has to resemble its manager, like dogs resemble their owner. His team is more like the Beatles, and Klopp 's, more like the Rolling Stones," Castaño begins, referring to a Reds side that has won comfortably in the Premier League, but was unseated early on by Luis Enrique 's PSG in the Champions League. "They've traded visceral emotion for rationality," the academic director of the RFEF's coaching school explains, referring to a manager who has joined the list of debutants who have previously achieved 20 victories with their team in the English league. The Dutchman took 24 matches.

Another change applied to Liverpool, which differentiates it from PSG and Barça, is the defensive pressure, which isn't immediate but instead occurs when the potential steal is in a dangerous area of ​​the opponent's area. "Sometimes they let two or three passes go before going for the ball," Castaño points out. They've also changed the fast, "full-throttle" transitions to allow them to have more time to "rest" with the ball.

Three teams, three coaches who have turned their squads around and revalued them. But only one will be able to show it to the world from the United States. Luis Enrique has already started from the first game.