Luis Enrique will be remembered as one of Barcelona's all-time greats
"Forever one of our own." A banner at Camp Nou last weekend let Luis Enrique know that he will remain in the hearts of many supporters at the Catalan club. And so he should following Barcelona's 3-1 win over Alaves in Saturday's Copa del Rey final - even if his third season failed to live up to expectations.
Luis Enrique took over in 2014 after Barca had failed to end the 2013-14 season with a major trophy under Gerardo Martino. But with expectations always high for the Blaugrana - and more so following the success of Pep Guardiola - he was asked in his presentation if he thought he could emulate his former team-mate.
"Don't compare me to Pep!" he said. But then he added: "Well, if you compare me to Pep it means I will have done something right..." And by the end of his first year in charge, he had a treble to back up those words.
But it was a sombre and serious Luis Enrique who faced the media in Berlin after Barca beat Juventus to win the Champions League and claim the third part of that treble triumph.