Luis Enrique calls it a day
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Article summary
Ex-Spanish international Luis Enrique has retired after spells with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF.
Article body
'Unreachable standards'
The 34-year-old played 24 times as Barcelona finished second in the Primera División last season but was not offered a new deal when his contract expired on 30 June. "I have had plenty of offers to play abroad - from France, England, Japan, Mexico and Qatar - but decided against accepting any of them for various reasons," he said. "I'm the only one who knows how I feel and I think that the standards I demand of myself would just be unreachable."
Olympic gold
A product of his local side, Real Sporting de Gijón, Luis Enrique starred for the club's youth teams before bursting on to the scene in 1990, scoring 14 goals in his first season. He joined Madrid in 1991 as a striker but soon became known as the Santiago Bernabéu's resident utility man - operating mostly as a left-winger or left-back. The rewards came with an Olympic gold medal in 1992 and a league championship medal three years later.
International appearances
In 1996, however, he stunned the Merengues by seeing out his contract and moving to Barcelona on a free transfer. Under Bobby Robson, he won the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup; under Louis van Gaal, two league titles and another domestic cup. Luis Enrique was capped 62 times by Spain, first appearing in a 2-0 loss to Romania in April 1991, and played at the 1994, 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups and EURO '96™.