"This is my style and I don't care if you don't like it," he said. It was April 2016 and Luis Enrique was asked if he felt sorry for berating a journalist, who had been critical of Barcelona's fitness levels.

"I have nothing to apologise for," he shrugged. "I didn't show anyone a lack of respect." Barca's form had dipped but they would still win the domestic double a month later, one year after he had led them to a brilliant treble in his first season, matching the achievement of Pep Guardiola in 2009.

A year later Luis Enrique would be gone, after winning six of nine major trophies up for grabs, and yet he left the Camp Nou respected more than he was loved.

Now he brings his meticulous, single-minded, dynamic, prickly, all-or-nothing style to the Spain dugout, ready to undergo his first test at Wembley against England on Saturday.

When the fixture was announced in May, as part of the inaugural UEFA Nations League, few would have expected it to be the visitors confronting questions about style, youth and an underperforming goalkeeper, following a humiliating World Cup exit. The new coach's press appearances so far suggest he will carry that same edge felt by the journalist two years ago