When Luis Enrique arrived at Barcelona in 2014, he was the epitome of casual. He exuded calm onthe touchline, often wearing chinos, a dressed down shirt, and a pair of sneakers, looking more likely to serve you a bottle of Estrellain a Catalan bar than coach a football team.But that was his demeanour, a vision of serene composure as he surveyed his players on the Nou Camp pitch.
Recently, though, his attire has become significantly more formal, darker, brooding even, almost to align with what appears to be the emotional state of Enrique. It's become unlikely to see the former Celta Vigo coach in a colour other than black, but this is no time for smart casual. Enrique is under severe pressure, and the strain of expectation at Barcelona is undoubtedly beginning to take its toll.
He has never been particularly sincere or revealing when speaking to the Spanish press, perhaps understandably, but after the heavy 4-0 defeat against PSG last week, he was visibly angry at one reporter.
This inaccessibility in the media is something that has not helped Enrique. It has given him something of a reputation as sensitive and irritable, although that is not unlike former Barca coach Pep Guardiola.
In a way, there are similarities between Guardiola and Enrique. Both present a somewhat reserved, introverted persona, and both can appear unwelcoming and cold, when in actual fact they are simply caught up in the events of the game.
But it's the differences that are proving to be the biggest hindrance for Enrique, and explain why he has, rather unceremoniously, been effectively informally dismissed from his job already.
Enrique won a treble in his first season at the Nou Camp, a double in his second, but this campaign has proved a struggle. Barcelona are a club that now expect success, almost with an air of complacency, thus the barrage of criticism aimed at Enrique following defeat at PSG.
It could well be the case that the club are now competing in just the Copa del Rey, but, in a week when the discussion over how much respect should be given to Arsene Wenger, an undoubtedly successful manager, the same should be considered for Enrique.
Unlike Guardiola, Enrique avoided conforming to what had been the idyllic, ingrained philosophy at Barcelona before his arrival, one which had begun to feel stale, particularly in Europe.
Tata Martino's reign following Guardiola's departure was a huge disappointment, although strangely did not garner as much of an overreaction as the decline of Barcelona this season. Enrique decided to change things, focusing on pragmatically utilising the strengths of the team at his disposal, the most prevalent of which was the irrepressible front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.
Enrique was the first manager in recent times to risk drastically changing Barca's style to one which often relied on quick counter attacks, and moving the ball forward towards the front threeas quickly as possible. As a result, he has been more easily targeted when his methods have appeared to have come undone this season. He's not Pep Guardiola, or Johan Cruyff, after all.
Bit of tension in Camp Nou as vocal supporters behind goal chant "Luis Enrique" and a lot of others start booing.
Many seem to have forgotten over the past week the 7-0 aggregate humbling Barcelona received at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League in 2013. Just a year before Enrique's arrival it was branded the death of 'tiki taka' (a non-existent concept anyway), and many claimed that it was the end of Barcelona's time as the undisputed best club in world football. It certainly was the catalyst for a change, and Enrique capitalised. Indeed, he deserves considerable credit for reigniting, and in a way recreating what Guardiola had built to win what had seemed an improbable treble in his first season.
Of course there will still be those who claim that Enrique's success has been brought about solely by the combination of one of the greatest forward lines in the history of the game. Clearly their astonishing attacking displays, and phenomenal goal records have played a big part, but it was Enrique that discovered the best way to fully utilise them, and centred a team capable of winning a Champions League trophy, and back-to-back La Liga titles around their attributes.
They have been subdued in recent weeks, and Barca in general have looked bereft of ideas, but Enrique has become something of a scapegoat, partly due to the manner of success his predecessors achieved. When Guardiola's side struggled in his final season, the football was still superb. When Enrique's side have struggled, there has been less to fall back on.
Enrique, regardless of his side's difficulties this season, should be given the courtesy and respect of a manager who reinvigorated Barcelona, and led them to domestic and European glory, silencing his doubters in the prospect. His doubters remain, however -some vociferously claim that he has simply benefited from the ability of his players -and it now appears more thanlikely that Enrique will leave the club by the end of the season, and head for pastures new.