Luis Enrique

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Lore & Background

Luis Enrique was born in Gijón, Asturias, and began his career with local Sporting de Gijón, where he gained the nickname Lucho after Luis Flores, a Mexican forward in the team. He then spent most of his playing days with the two biggest Spanish clubs: first Real Madrid for five seasons and, in 1996, after seeing out his contract and notably scoring in a 5–0 home win against Barcelona in January 1995, stating later he 'rarely felt appreciated by the Real Madrid supporters and didn't have good memories there', he moved to their fierce rivals at the Camp Nou on a free transfer. The Catalans' supporters were at first hesitant about their new acquisition, but he soon won the hearts of the culers, staying eight years, eventually becoming team captain and scoring several times in El Clásico against his former employers; he passionately celebrated at the Santiago Bernabéu, where he grabbed his jersey after a 25-yard strike that beat the opposing goalkeeper. Luis Enrique scored 46 La Liga goals in his first three seasons with Barcelona, with the side finishing runner-up in 1996–97 and subsequently winning back-to-back domestic championship accolades. Furthermore, he was named Spanish Player of the Year by El País in the following campaign. He also scored the opening goal in the 1997 UEFA Super Cup, a 3–1 aggregate triumph against Borussia Dortmund. During his final years in Barcelona, Luis Enrique was often injured, and did not want to renew his contract. He had been offered a deal by his first club Sporting, which he, however, declined, stating that 'he wouldn't be able to reach the level he demanded of himself' and that 'he wouldn't be doing Sporting much of a favour by going there.' His concerns about his level and fitness made him retire on 10 August 2004 at the age of 34, and he finished his professional career with league totals of 400 games and 102 goals, being named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March.

In Their Own Story

The 1994 World Cup quarter-final at Foxboro Stadium turned brutal when Mauro Tassotti's elbow smashed into Luis Enrique's face, leaving him bloodied. The referee saw nothing, and Italy advanced 2–1. Tassotti was later banned for eight games, but the scar stayed with Luis Enrique. Years later, when Spain faced Italy at Euro 2008, he reportedly urged the team to 'take revenge' for that moment. Tassotti, by then an assistant coach, told Marca he was tired of being reminded and had never intended to hurt the Spaniard.

Reader's Guide

Luis Enrique played for Spain in three FIFA World Cups: 1994, 1998 and 2002 (as well as UEFA Euro 1996), and scored 12 goals while earning 62 caps. He was also a member of the gold-winning squad at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and made his debut for the main side on 17 April 1991, featuring for 22 minutes in a 0–2 friendly loss to Romania in Cáceres. In the 1994 World Cup, held in the United States, Luis Enrique scored his first international goal, in the round-of-16 3–0 win over Switzerland in Washington, D.C. In the 2–1 quarter-final defeat against Italy at the Foxboro Stadium, Mauro Tassotti's elbow made contact with Luis Enrique's face to bloody effect but the incident went unpunished during the match – Tassotti was banned for eight games afterwards; Tassotti later stated he had instantly and deeply regretted his actions, describing them as 'stupid' but not premeditated and purely instinctive since his shirt had been pulled by Luis Enrique, and the former personally apologised to the latter. Nonetheless, when Spain met Italy at Euro 2008 on 22 June, to battle for a place in the semi-finals, Luis Enrique reportedly called for the team to 'take revenge' for the 1994 World Cup incident by beating Italy. Tassotti, an assistant coach with AC Milan at the time, told the newspaper Marca that he was tired of always being reminded of this incident, and that he had never intended to hurt the Spaniard. At the 1998 World Cup, Luis Enrique played a major role in a 6–1 rout of Bulgaria in the last game of the group, scoring and assisting once and also winning a penalty, but the Spaniards were eliminated nonetheless. On 5 June of the following year, he scored a hat-trick in a 9–0 win in Villarreal over San Marino in the Euro 2000 qualifiers. On 23 June 2002, Luis Enrique retired from international football, in order to give the younger players more playing time and focus only on his club.

Did You Know?

• Luis Enrique made his senior debut for Spain on 17 April 1991, playing 22 minutes in a 0–2 friendly loss to Romania in Cáceres.
• He scored his first international goal in the 1994 World Cup round-of-16 3–0 win over Switzerland in Washington, D.C.
• He scored a hat-trick in a 9–0 win over San Marino in the Euro 2000 qualifiers on 5 June 1999.
• Luis Enrique retired from international football on 23 June 2002 to give younger players more playing time.