Rafael Marquez says that manager Luis Enrique has managed to get the best
Former Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez says that manager Luis Enrique has managed to get the best out of the team by unifying them as a club.
In the recent past under the management of Gerardo Martino, Barcelona appeared disjointed and unable to dominate matches as they once did under Guardiola. The invincibility has returned this campaign under Enrique, who has adopted a more direct approach than Guardiola. As a result, the team has been scoring goals for fun and it has also been helped by the presence of Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan has complimented Messi and Neymar extremely well and he has a lot of assists in his first season at the club.
Back towards the end of 2014, there were a lot of rumours that Enrique had fallen out with star striker Lionel Messi, who was about to demand a transfer in the summer. Chelsea were seen as the next destination of the Argentine superstar, but within a space of a few weeks, the entire problems within the Barcelona camp appeared to disappear.
They went on an incredible run of several consecutive victories in all competitions to win the la Liga title with a two-point advantage over second placed Real Madrid. A comfortable win against Copa del Rey then showed the unity within the team.
"The biggest challenge for Luis Enrique at Barcelona, I think, has been to bring all the players together, to make them all happy. As you mentioned before, it is not easy to keep the players happy if you have a lot of figures and stars and I think that Luis Enrique, out on the pitch, has brought the team together," said Marquez, who has won several titles including the Champions League with the Catalan club. The Mexican was amongst the recent top defenders who represented Barcelona.