Macdara Ferris reports from Munich
When Luis Enrique won his first Champions League title as manager it was with Barcelona back in 2015 in Berlin. Afterwards on the pitch he celebrated with his young daughter Xana, then aged five years old, where she waved the Catalan flag to her father’s delight in the Olympiastadion.
His daughter died six years ago and fast forward a decade from that win for Barca, Enrique returned to a Champions League final in Germany – this time in Munich – and after he masterminded PSG’s 5-0 win over Inter Milan, he pulled on a black T-Shirt in memory of Xana. It showed a cartoon of him with his daughter holding a PSG flag in celebration.
Meanwhile behind the goal where the PSG fans were celebrating they unfurled a massive tifo flag with Enrique and his daughter depicted wearing a PSG jersey with a PSG flag.
Speaking in the post-match conference afterwards, Enrique said “it was very emotional” seeing the banner. “It was beautiful to think the supporters had thought about me and my family.
“My daughter is always with me. I feel her presence. I was delighted to see it but I don’t need a trophy to think about my daughter.”
The manager was asked if it was a masterpiece of a performance from his side on the pitch – as they won the match by the largest ever winning margin in a European Cup final.
“I don’t know whether we can call it a masterpiece. We got off to a blinding start (going 2-0 up inside 20 minutes). My team was exceptional this evening. Inter couldn’t find their feet. This game was one that we were in control of.”
The win for PSG emulates Marseilles win in 1993 – the only other French victory in the competition – and the challenge of winning this cup was one that was on Enrique’s mind from the very start of his time at the Qatari backed club.
"Since day one, I said I wanted to win important trophies, and Paris had never won the Champions League. We did it for the first time. It's a great feeling to make many people happy."
When they lost the final in 2020 it was in a match behind closed doors but their supporters this time around nearly lifted the roof with their celebrations. By the time the fifth went in, it seemed they had run out of pyro and there was almost a sense of disbelief in a game where Désiré Doué was simply superb – scoring twice and providing the assist for the opening goal.
“Our fans showed how intense they are. They are the 12th man. I’m just so happy. We were marvellous this evening.”
His opposite number Simone Inzaghi didn’t pull his punches in his assessment of his own side.
“We didn’t play well,” he said. “PSG outplayed us. We did not play the best game clearly. I thanked the players for what they did this season. They didn’t win any silverware, but I am very proud of them.
“I’m hurting but defeats make you stronger like we did in 2023 and we then won the league the following season.
"We gave everything we had to get to this point, playing 58 games this season. The players gave their all. We played our league till last Friday and they (PSG) won a couple of months in advance. They are a great team.”
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— extratime.com (@extratime.com) 31 May 2025 at 22:09
About Macdara Ferris
Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile