The Barcelona boss was named as the outstanding manager from the past 12 months following a year which saw him lead the Catalan club to five trophies
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has been named as the 2015 Fifa World Coach of the Year at Monday’s Ballon d’Or gala in Zurich, seeing off competition from Josep Guardiola and Jorge Sampaoli.
The 45-year-old led Barca to the treble – the second in their history – in his first season in charge and followed up that success by guiding his side to Uefa Super Cup glory prior to winning the Club World Cup in December.
A two-legged defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup was the only available trophy that Enrique missed out on in a remarkable 2015 for both manager and club.
Spearheaded by an attack of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, Enrique’s side ended the previous campaign having chalked up a remarkable 50 wins.
Enrique was not present in Switzerland to collect the award, although he didn’t reveal why he’d decided not to make the trip with the Catalan club’s travelling party, which featured Messi, Dani Alves, Andres Iniesta and Neymar.
“No, I will not be at the Ballon d’Or,” was his prompt reply when asked if he would attend after Barcelona beat Granada on Saturday.
The Barca boss saw off competition from Bayern boss Guardiola, who claimed the Bundesliga title with the Bavarians, while Chile coach Sampaoli helped his side win their first ever Copa America.