As Paris Saint-Germain clinched their first Champions League title, Luis Enrique’s thoughts turned to his late daughter. Six years ago Xana died of osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. She was nine. And at the moment when he scaled the peak of his coaching career, Luis Enrique paid tribute to the child who he said was “always in my heart”.
At full-time the Paris fans unveiled a tifo depicting Luis and Xana, recreating the moment when he planted a flag in the pitch alongside her after winning the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015. “It was very emotional with the banner from the fans for my family,” Luis Enrique said. “But I always think about my daughter.”
As for his history-making side, Luis Enrique could reflect on a mission spectacularly accomplished, after a 5-0 win over Inter that PSG dominated from start to finish. “Since day one, I said I wanted to win important trophies,” he said. “Paris had never won the Champions League. We did it for the first time. It’s a great feeling to make many people happy.”
PSG scored two goals inside 20 minutes and completed the rout in the second half, with the winger Désiré Doué scoring the first and third. “We had a great start to the game, dominating from the beginning,” said Luis Enrique. “But I wanted them to keep pushing, scoring, to ensure we won the game.”
Doué, 19, was still processing a game that has elevated him into the very elite of world football. “I can’t believe what happened tonight,” he said. “We made history for the club, in French football, in European football. We’re a great team, and we showed it.”
Inter’s manager, Simone Inzaghi, tried to put a brave face on his side’s humiliation. “This hurts,” he said. “Of course the game wasn’t good enough on our part.” But he also insisted: “We can come out stronger from this defeat, like we did in 2023 [after losing the final to Manchester City] and then won the league the following season.”
