Spain boss Luis Enrique OK with sex before match: 'As a player I did what I had to do...'

Spain coach Luis Enrique celebrates during his side's 7-0 win over Costa Rica at the 2022 World Cup.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Spain coach Luis Enrique has opened up on the somewhat taboo subject of sex before a match in his latest stream for fans on Twitch from the 2022 World Cup on Qatar.

Fresh from leading La Roja to a 7-0 win over Costa Rica in their opening game on Wednesday, Luis Enrique spoke to the fans on a range of topics on Thursday night.

Asked about sex before a game, the 52-year-old started off by stressing that it was not happening in Qatar. "Not because it can't be done, but because of the circumstances," he said.

"It's something very normal," he went on to say. "I don't give it importance. As long as you don't have an orgy...

"With the clubs, they are at home and I am zero worried if [the players] do it or not. If they do it, it is because it is going well for them. With common sense, each one with their own wife or with whomever he wants. It falls within normality."

Unprompted, the former Barcelona coach then spoke about his own experiences from his playing days.

"I consider sex to be important and as a player whenever I could, with my wife, I did what we had to do," he added.

Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.

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