And suddenly, Luis Enrique became a saint.

That Luis Enrique is a sensational coach was known to anyone who cared to know. He didn't need another Champions League title, nor to win without Mbappé , nor to mold Doué , nor to turn Inter Milan into Moratalaz's Inter. He didn't need any of that, but the avalanche of evidence has created a sad donut effect: he's made friends everywhere. It's been embarrassing. Not as much as the forced, sensationalist use of his deceased daughter's name in every news story, column, or tweet, just to see if that might snag a few clicks, but close.

Luis Enrique is a sensational coach and a real jerk to journalists. He doesn't trust most of them; he believes we're the standard-bearers, knowing only a tenth of what he knows about football (this is true both in his criticism and his praise), and he's never hidden it. I find it very funny and refreshing in a world full of high-flyers who, in exchange for good things said about them in talk shows, are constantly sucking up to the big media while snubbing the reporters who cover their training sessions. However, many colleagues see the Gijón native as rude, disrespectful of his job, and gratuitously unpleasant. Nor is this a far-fetched view.

Up to this point, everything would be normal. What wasn't even remotely reasonable was the witch hunt that many of the second group subjected Luis Enrique to when he was coach. It was orchestrated, it was revenge, it was hatred with a microphone and keyboard. Anyone who analyzes without rancor the Spain he took over and the one he left behind knows that his work was the origin of the current splendor, that the ending against Morocco was ugly... and accidental. The accounts that were overlooked when Luis de la Fuente , this one interviewed amiably, lifted the Euro Cup or Dortmund eliminated PSG last year had nothing to do with football because football didn't support them. It was personal. It always has been with him.

That's why it's sad to see so many converts now. What they didn't like about Luis Enrique , and was legitimate, hasn't changed, but it's no longer talked about. They'll say it's objective, that they're champions of the truth, that they've seen the light, but don't believe them. As soon as he loses—and he will lose because even the best coaches eventually fall—they'll be waiting for him with stones and torches. It's the new cycle of life for certain sports journalism. Journalism... or whatever.