Paris Saint-Germain face Arsenal in the Champions League final on Saturday. PSG are led by Luis Enrique, a coach who has spent the last decade providing one of the most fearsome records in the biggest matches of modern football.
Luis Enrique has won 11 of the 12 club finals he has managed. This impressive tally spans two eras, two footballing cultures and two versions of elite dominance.
Individual brilliance at Barcelona gave the Spaniard his first taste of European success. PSG's collective storm brought Enrique back there.
The way Luis Enrique won the finals is inspiring.
His teams don't just survive the finals. Enrique's teams dominate the finals early, incorporate them into their rhythm and force their opponents to tire.
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Barcelona defeated Juventus 3-1 in the Champions League final in 2015. It was the completion of the treble.
The following month, Barça defeated Sevilla 5-4 in a thrilling European Super Cup match. It was an example of attacking play.
There were triumphs in the Copa del Rey, a title in the Club World Cup against River Plate and the feeling that his Barcelona team was in perpetual motion forward.
At PSG, the performance has evolved.
The team is less decorative, more aggressive with the ball, more willing to "suffocate" the opponent's play through pressure and movement. It's not just about long periods of possession.
Yet many things remain the same. Enrique's teams play finals as if they believe that hesitation is fatal.
This mentality was evident last year in Munich, where PSG demolished Inter 5-0 in the final.
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The only blemish on Enrique's record of club finals came a few weeks later in the Club World Cup. PSG lost 3-0 to Chelsea.
The defeat, however, came in extraordinary circumstances, at the end of a grueling campaign in which PSG had gone all the way in every competition. And the physical and emotional toll was immense.
But the defeat almost strengthened Luis Enrique.
This season Luis Enrique has managed to revive consistency in a team that seemed to have run out of energy during the winter.
Now comes another final, and Enrique told reporters that Arsenal are the best team in the game without the ball. His players were told that they are the best in the game with the ball.
PSG usually plays with the ball at the feet of the players, while the French team's game in transition is undoubtedly the most "deadly".
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For Arsenal, the challenge is psychological as well as technical and tactical. The Gunners face a team that has made finals seem routine under Enrique. The Spaniard looks most dangerous when the pressure is on.
The experience at Barça and PSG makes one thing clear: when Luis Enrique reaches the final, he usually leaves with the trophy.
