Colin Sheridan: Enrique's authentic leadership has given PSG a soul

The sad truth, however, is that these days, it’s often hard to find beauty in elite professional sport.

Paris Saint-Germain's headcoach Luis Enrique celebrates after a win over SCO Angers at The Parc des Princes Stadium last week to clinch the Ligue 1 title. Photo by FRANCK FIFE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Some weeks ago, in a coffee shop in West Beirut, I had a conversation with an esteemed Lebanese academic, Karim Makdisi, about the future of Hezbollah following the assassination of its beloved leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Makdisi, an associate professor at the American University in Beirut, devout Arsenal fan, and host of the popular “Makdisi Street” podcast, clearly understood his audience, and chose a sports metaphor to simplify his message. 

“Think of Hezbollah like Paris Saint Germain,” he said, at once making his informed opinions more accessible to me, “and think of Nasrallah as a composite of Messi, Mbappé and Neymar. He was a God-like figure to his followers. More powerful than any ownership or executive. Inspirational, omnipotent, but maybe - just maybe - the force of his personality was such it held them back.”