Enrique dodges Ballon d'Or question and laments the exclusion of Paris gem
Doué deserves to be among the Ballon d'Or contenders
Luis Enrique addressed the Ballon d'Or race on Friday, two days before his Paris Saint-Germain side host Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Enrique refused to nail his colours to the mast or name a favourite. He did, though, make clear he wants the prize to land with a PSG player.
"A strategy? Our plan is to win the important matches," he said. "That is our strategy. We have not decided anything as a club. We are happy to have 10 players among the 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or."
Doue's omission clearly rankled. "If we had the possibility to make the decision, we would perhaps have put Doue on the list as well. Why was Doue not nominated? We always defend our players. We deserve for the Ballon d'Or to go to one of our players."
Pressed on the eventual winner, he added: "Who will win the Ballon d'Or? As a club, we hope one of Paris Saint-Germain's players wins it. We seek to protect our players."
Marseille next, and the manager waved away any talk of favourites. "Paris being favourites against Marseille? There are no favourite candidates, especially when you are playing a Clasico match. We are used to seeing teams that are favourites to win and then lose their matches."
His verdict on the previous week made for interesting listening. "After analysing last week's match against Brest, I must say one thing, that it was not our worst match, but it was the least good of the four matches we have played. Against Monaco we put on a wonderful match and lost. And at Rennes and Lille we deserved more. The Brest match was the least good, but it was so because they played very well. That is the analysis I can offer."
What about a word for the opposition dugout? "A message to Bruno Genesio, the Marseille coach? I cannot wish him luck on Sunday because he is the opposition's coach. I can wish him luck in the future, but on Sunday I will not wish him that. We will play a complicated match against Marseille, who have changed their coach and had many players leave. We must be ready for any scenario."
He signed off with warm words for his young forward. "Doue is an amazing player, and it is great to have a player with this mentality. He started as a regular, and I think he played as a starter in most of the matches at the start of the season. I am happy with what I see from him."
