Enrique's late daughter remembered
Agencies
Paris
Paris Saint-Germain fans unveiled a huge banner honouring coach Luis Enrique's late daughter Xana after the French club won their first Champions League on Saturday following years of failure.
After his side thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich, the Spaniard also switched t-shirts to carry a reference to his daughter, who died of bone cancer in 2019 aged 9.
'Xana is always with us, we always think of her,' he told reporters.
She had witnessed her father lift European club football's top prize as part of a treble while he was Barcelona coach in 2015, but he has managed the feat again after a painful period which included having to step down from the Spain job before her death.
A row over his return to the Spain role and subsequent exit after a disappointing 2022 World Cup, only for the side to go on and win Euro 2024, had threatened Enrique's legacy.
But he has moulded a real team since taking over in 2023 at PSG, eschewing their previous obsession with big names. His know-how has delivered in spectacular style with a record-winning margin for a Champions League final.
'No one expected this. We pressed so well, it's amazing what we managed. We are very happy, we had this ambition and goal,' he added.
Club president Nasser Al Khelaifi, part of the Qatari group who took over the club in 2011 when they had won just two French league titles, was thrown into the air by the players after they lifted the trophy.
They now have a record 13 Ligue 1 titles, but the big aim was the Champions League, which looked further away than ever when Lionel Messi came and then left after the unhappiest period of his career from 2021-23.
Al Khelaifi, having also seen Neymar and Kylian Mbappe walk away, changed strategy by investing in younger prospects and wily professionals.
It has paid off handsomely with a first ever French treble.
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