Luis Enrique praised Leo Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez for their “hard work” to balance Barcelona.

The Blaugrana will throw their attacking might at Juventus in the Champions League Final on Saturday in Berlin.

Enrique has won the Liga title and last night the Copa del Rey, but fans complain his style isn’t as possession-based as predecessor Pep Guardiola.

Luis Enrique praised Leo Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez for their “hard work” to balance Barcelona.

The Blaugrana will throw their attacking might at Juventus in the Champions League Final on Saturday in Berlin.

Enrique has won the Liga title and last night the Copa del Rey, but fans complain his style isn’t as possession-based as predecessor Pep Guardiola.

“We always tend to romanticise things in the past. No two teams are the same, every team has its own time. A Coach's job is to get the best out of the players,” he told uefa.com.

“On top of that, at Barcelona we want to do that in an attractive way, because our fans are used to watching good football and you can play good football in many ways.

“We need the ball and we want to have it. In most games – except, I think, against Bayern where the possession was quite even – we use the ball to dominate the match and we try to do that in the opposition half.

“But that doesn't mean you're always going to be able to do that – because you've got opponents in front of you, because players don't always have a perfect day, because we Coaches make mistakes all the time when we prepare for or envisage certain things.

“We think one thing is going to happen and then something different happens. That's because things are constantly changing and it's a very complicated sport. 

“You have a huge pitch, 11 players who are supposed to have the same identity and the same ideas. It's very difficult to do things collectively.”

Enrique believes this attitude is what allows Barcelona to balance their extraordinary trident of forwards.

“That's why the greatest thing about this season, in my opinion, is the fact we have a team with a unique and special strikeforce who have shown themselves willing and able to work for the rest of the team – realising that in order to defend we all have to defend together.

“To concede just 19 goals in 37 league games, you need everyone to work hard and work together, and to press as a unit and do whatever we decide to at any given moment.

“That requires hard work, which is what the players have produced, and it's been rewarded with the possibility of winning trophies.

“I find that very gratifying as a Coach, and then obviously it's a joy to behold the individual quality up front when a player finishes things off in the box, which is the most difficult area.”

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