Any football club where the manager is not the leader of the team will struggle to succeed. Also, when players become bigger than the manager, there is always a tendency for problems to appear within the squad.
Look at what happened during the 1-1 draw between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in the second leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League, qualifying for the champions league 2025/26 finals.
Ousmane Dembélé was substituted in the 60th minute because he was not pressing enough or showing the level of energy Luis Enrique wanted from him.
Enrique took him off, and Dembélé did not complain, grumble, or react negatively. He simply sat down on the bench and continued supporting his teammates.
We can clearly see that Luis Enrique is fully in charge at PSG, and Softfootball believes this is one of the biggest reasons behind the club’s recent success.
Other players should learn from this. Players need to respect and trust their managers, especially when the manager is helping improve their careers and bringing success to the team.
Take a player like Dembélé for example. Many people never imagined he would return to Ballon d’Or conversations after the difficult years he experienced at Barcelona due to injuries and inconsistency.
Today, he is now being mentioned as one of the serious contenders for the Ballon d’Or ahead of several global superstars.
Softfootball believes Luis Enrique has completely transformed Dembélé’s football career and mentality at PSG. But this transformation happened because the player was willing to listen, remain disciplined, and trust the process created by the manager.
When you look closely at the PSG squad today, there appears to be complete discipline and structure. Luis Enrique speaks, and the players listen.
Softfootball believes this unity, respect, and discipline are major reasons why PSG are now competing strongly at the highest level once again.
