Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has launched a passionate defence of Brahim Diaz. This comes following the Real Madrid star’s penalty miss in the AFCON 2026 final, and fans have been reacting.
According to him, the Moroccan forward is neither an assassin nor a bad person for attempting a Panenka in stoppage time because Diaz is far from the first player to attempt the audacious chip on the biggest stage.
Enrique added that the fact that Brahim would’ve been hailed if he scored highlights the hypocrisy often found in football analysis.
His words, “Everyone can see that. But this is a sport, nothing else. Nothing happens whether you win or lose. The important thing is the value that you can give to young people, without exaggerating. He is neither an assassin nor a bad person. You have to respect how difficult it is to be a young player. It’s a difficult time. There’s a lot of pressure.
I remember Zinedine Zidane, who is a football God, did a Panenka during a World Cup.
I also remember Sergio Ramos who took a Panenka during a very important game. Lots of players have done it.
When you score that type of penalty, nobody says anything and everybody applauds. But when you miss, there are lots of negative opinions about that player, and he is a magnificent player.”
WOW.
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