Barcelona painted their city red and blue on Sunday but as Catalonia partied, uncertainty continued over the long-term future of their treble-winning coach Luis Enrique.
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The Blaugrana received a heroes welcome as hundreds of thousands of fans packed the city streets to cheer on the squad following their 3-1 Champions League final win over Juventus less than 24 hours previously.
A fifth European crown completed a sensational season which also included title successes in La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
But over the last few months Enrique has consistently avoided committing himself beyond this season, and that stance was not altered even after Saturday night’s triumphant victory in Berlin, with Enrique sparking further speculation by openly admitting that he does not know if he will still be manager at the end of the summer.
Luis Enrique’s future still very, very much up in air. Not talked about future at all since Zubi sacked in Jan. Wonder if will speak now.
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) June 6, 2015
But central defender Gerard Pique, who had led the post-match celebrations at the Olympiastadion in his usual fashion by cutting down the goal net as a souvenir, is confident that Enrique will remain in charge, saying: “I don’t think he’ll leave. He’s happy here, he loves the club and we can do great things with him.”
In Berlin, the usually reticent Enrique was a picture of delight at the final whistle, celebrating enthusiastically on the pitch with his daughter and joyfully beaming as his players followed tradition by repeatedly throwing him high in the air.
On Sunday, he waved enthusiastically from the team bus, decked out in club colours with the vehicle emblazoned with the word ‘Campiones’.
And Pique believes the obvious delight felt by his manager, who was upset by the club’s sacking of sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta in January, is an indication that he will not want to walk away now.
“It’s not my place to say whether he’ll stay or not,” said Pique. “But look at the way he celebrated – he loves this club. I’m sure he will stay.”
Pique also stated that this season’s Champions League triumph surpasses his previous two titles with Barca – in 2009 and 2011 – in his personal memory bank.
“I’ve enjoyed this one the most,” he said. “It probably feels so good because we’ve gone a few years without winning it. That makes it a little sweeter.”
The central defender, who also won the Champions League with Manchester United in 2008 despite not featuring in the final against Chelsea, was also eager to reserve some special words of praise for departing club captain Xavi.
Xavi was able to celebrate his 767th and final game for Barca in a perfect manner after appearing from the bench in the final stages, and Pique believes he is worthy of all the admiration he has received.
“Xavi deserves everything, absolutely everything,” he said. “He’s leaving us but also leaving us a footballing legacy – a way of playing the game.”
It was Xavi and Andres Iniesta who carried the Champions League trophy off the chartered plane as it landed at El Prat airport. The 35-year-old then began the parade at the back of the bus with the red and yellow Catalan flag draped over his shoulders.
One of Barcelona’s goalscorers on the night, Neymar led many of the celebrations, at one point gesturing to staff in a McDonalds restaurant to throw him a burger.
The Brazilian forward fired home with the last touch of the game after combining with substitute Pedro on a pacey counter-attack, taking his goal tally for the season to 39 from 51 games.
He also became the first ever player to score in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final and semi-final and the final, while finishing this season’s tournament as the joint highest scorer, alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo with 10 strikes.
Neymar headed into the game on the back of fierce criticism following an ugly incident in the closing stages of Barca’s previous match – the Copa del Rey final victory over Athletic Bilbao.
With time ticking down, the Brazilian angered Athletic players by attempting a flashy piece of skill, leading to complaints that he had been disrespectful and arrogant.
He said: “I’m very happy to be part of this story. Now I think there’s nothing to pin on me – there is nothing more they can say.”
And he admitted Saturday’s win was a special moment, adding: “This is surely the high point of my career. This day will live on in history.”
