“This is just the beginning” – Paris writes history, emotional scenes around Enrique

Luis Enrique pulled a black T-shirt out of a bag. It featured a drawing of him with his daughter. It also featured a Paris Saint-Germain club flag. After the 5-0 Champions League victory against Inter Milan, the PSG coach paid an emotional tribute to his daughter Xana, who died of a malignant bone tumor in 2019 at just nine years old.

And not only that: After the final whistle, the PSG fans unveiled a giant banner depicting Enrique and his daughter. The PSG coach watched the scene, touched and with tears in his eyes. "Xana is always with us. We always think of her, we love her. We carry her in our hearts forever," the Asturian said after the match.

Flashback: When Luis Enrique won the Champions League with FC Barcelona in 2015, he romped around the center circle of Berlin's Olympic Stadium with Xana, then five years old, and celebrated the title with her exuberantly. Xana wore a blue and red Barca jersey and held a club flag. The touching images of father and daughter had gone viral. Therefore, it was a particular wish of the Spaniard to honor his daughter in this special way in Munich after the victory with PSG.

Enrique resigned from his position as Spain national coach in March 2019 to be there solely for Xana and his family. Xana fought cancer for five months, but to no avail. "You will be the star that guides our family," Enrique wrote on social media afterward. The former professional is convinced that his daughter will continue to accompany him. "She may no longer be there physically, but spiritually—and that's very important to me," he said.

He made a similar statement in a documentary: "After her death, my mother couldn't bear to have photos of Xana in her home. I told her that it had to be because Xana is alive. We talk about her every day, remember her, and laugh. Because I'm convinced that Xana still sees us."

How important the "contact" with his deceased daughter is to him was also evident at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Before his Spain team's match against Germany, Enrique emphasized: "Today we're not only playing against Germany, today is also a very special day because Xanita would have turned 13. Amore, wherever you are, lots of kisses, have a great day, we love you."

The emotional climax of a one-sided final. What's more, the impressive 5-0 victory was not only the first coup for the Qatari-backed club, but also their biggest victory in a Champions League final ever. Paris surpassed record winners Real Madrid, FC Bayern Munich, and AC Milan, who had each triumphed by four goals.

The players were correspondingly euphoric after the game. "I'm at a loss for words, I'm absolutely at a loss for words. This is my biggest dream, which has come true here – and in my first season. We've made history, and this is just the beginning," said double goalscorer Désiré Doué.

Overwhelmed and happy: Désiré Doué.

Source: Sven Hoppe/dpa

Former Inter player and scorer of the 1-0 goal, Achraf Hakimi, was also full of euphoria: "We've made history. This is incredible for this city. Today was our day, and we're all happy. Luis Enrique has completely changed Paris Saint-Germain with his different way of watching football," said the former Dortmund player. "After everything he's been through, he deserves more than anyone else to be able to celebrate this now."

The losers, however, were served. "The disappointment is immense. We were too poor to win a Champions League final. It hurts that we didn't get it on the pitch. We'll certainly be asking ourselves in the coming days and weeks what went wrong," lamented Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who was denied the crowning glory in the stadium of his former club, Bayern Munich.

"We weren't able to play our own game from the start. I'm really proud of how we've fought so far, but today is a dark day for Inter," analyzed Dutchman Denzel Dumfries. "They deserved to win. Losing a final is always difficult. We have to accept it and move on."

With dpa and SID