Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain join Zidane’s coaching greats after Super Cup victory

Paris Saint-Germain beat Aston Villa 2-1 at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg to win the UEFA Super Cup for a second successive season, strengthening Luis Enrique’s standing among Europe’s greatest managers.

The victory, secured on Wednesday evening in Austria, gave Paris Saint-Germain a second European Super Cup under the Spanish coach and extended the club’s recent dominance on the continent.

For Enrique, the trophy represents more than another addition to the honours collected at the Parc des Princes. It underlines the emergence of an exceptional era in European football and draws comparisons with the period of dominance enjoyed by Real Madrid under Zinedine Zidane between 2016 and 2018.

Zidane’s Real Madrid won the Champions League three times in a row during that spell, in 2016, 2017 and 2018, while also claiming consecutive UEFA Super Cup titles.

The contrast between the two managers’ achievements is particularly striking because of the circumstances in which they inherited their teams.

When Zidane took charge of Real Madrid in January 2016, replacing Rafa Benitez, he had a squad already packed with world-class talent. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric were among the leading figures in a team that already possessed the quality to challenge for the biggest honours.

Zidane’s achievement was to manage those personalities effectively, maintain calm within the squad and ensure that the team’s interests came before individual status. His success followed from that balance.

Enrique, by contrast, arrived at Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023 after the club’s previous star-driven project had begun to break apart. The departures of Lionel Messi and Neymar were followed later by the exit of Kylian Mbappe.

Rather than retreat from the demands of the job, Enrique used the loss of those headline names to construct a disciplined collective. His Paris Saint-Germain side have been shaped by an aggressive high press and complete tactical commitment, transforming the club from a team reliant on individual brilliance into a more ruthless and coordinated unit.

That rebuilding process has now delivered consecutive Champions League triumphs, with Paris Saint-Germain winning the competition in 2025 and 2026. Their latest European title followed a tactical campaign in which Enrique’s side overcame several of the continent’s leading teams, including Arsenal in the final.

Winning the UEFA Super Cup at the start of a new season presents a different challenge. A side that has reached the top of European football twice in succession must still find the motivation and intensity required for another major final.

That is where both managers have shown their leadership qualities. Zidane instilled a culture of resilience and demanded that his players continue fighting until the final whistle. Under Enrique, Paris Saint-Germain have displayed similar strength, managing high-pressure finals and dealing with the demands of major matches with remarkable efficiency.

The latest trophy also takes Enrique deeper into the record books. He has now won the Champions League three times as a manager: with Barcelona in 2015 and with Paris Saint-Germain in 2025 and 2026. That puts him level with Zidane, Pep Guardiola and Bob Paisley.

Enrique has also joined Arrigo Sacchi and Zidane among the managers to retain both the UEFA Super Cup and the Champions League in successive years.

The similarities between Enrique and Zidane extend beyond their trophies. Both have shown composure and authority when operating under intense pressure. Zidane often dealt with the media in a manner that defused crises, while Enrique has confronted a demanding French media environment with a firm and uncompromising style.

Zidane managed the pride and expectations of a dressing room filled with established superstars. Enrique’s achievement has been to lead a wider transformation, building a successful team without relying on a collection of the game’s biggest names.

With the latest victory in Salzburg, Enrique has shown that Paris Saint-Germain’s supremacy is not a temporary surge. It is becoming a sustained footballing project built around a culture of winning and one that has ensured Zidane is no longer standing alone among Europe’s coaching legends.