Champions League final: Luis Enrique’s mental secret at PSG

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·11 August 2025

Champions League final: Luis Enrique’s mental secret at PSG

Luis Enrique (55), coach of Paris Saint-Germain, looked back on his team's mental approach before the UEFA Champions League final in an interview with the UEFA website. The Spaniard explains how he sought to avoid emotional overload so that his players would approach the match with serenity and lucidity.

Luis Enrique "I was worried two weeks before the match"

"I was worried two weeks before the match, when we played the French Cup final, before the UEFA Champions League final. My staff and I had only one thing in mind, which was to approach the match relaxed, so as not to be overwhelmed by the context or the stakes of the match, because we were surrounded - as one might expect - by supporters who wanted to support us, give us energy. When there's too much of something, it's a bad sign.

Luis Enrique "special matches in which tension can overwhelm you"

We already knew that we were going to give more than 100%, and that's bad. But I remember telling the players: "We're going to try to be at 105%, not at 120%, because this type of match ends up inhibiting you". (These are) special matches in which tension can overwhelm you, and I think that in this regard, the players were sensational in managing this tension. The approach to this match was exceptional from the whole team.

Luis Enrique knows that finals are often played in the head before being played on the pitch. The Spaniard not only prepared his men physically, but also anticipated what pressure could make them lose: lucidity. In a club like Paris Saint-Germain, where every big meeting is scrutinized and where recent history is marked by mental shipwrecks, this speech makes perfect sense.

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Aiming for 105%, not 120%: an apparent paradox, but a real psychological game plan. By controlling the excess adrenaline, Luis Enrique allowed his players to approach the match as a controlled battle rather than a wild race. Perhaps it is there, more than in the tactical scheme or physical preparation, that lies the key to PSG's success this season: learning to tame one's emotions to finally dominate adversity.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.