Football: Enrique fuming with quit talks

ROME: Luis Enrique angrily rejected suggestions that he might quit as Roma coach after just one season, calling for an end to criticisms of his approach because of its negative impact on the team. Enrique has faced calls to resign or be sacked almost since the day he arrived in the Italian capital and put popular captain Francesco Totti on the bench for a Europa League tie, which the club lost. He again had to field questions about his future after Saturday’s 4-2 defeat at Lecce, which hurt Roma’s fading Champions League qualification hopes. “I’m not interested in talking about my possible resignation,” Enrique told reporters. “I will only leave when the team stops following me or if the club decides that I’m not the right person.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2012.