Enrique opposes matches without fans

MADRID: Spain coach Luis Enrique says playing behind closed doors is "sadder than dancing with your own sister", as football faces the prospect of games without supporters for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus pandemic. Germany’s Bundesliga became the first major European league to resume last weekend following the two-month shutdown, with strict hygiene measures enforced at all matches across the country. "(Playing without fans) is sadder than dancing with your own sister. It’s not attractive," Luis Enrique told the "Colgados del aro" ("Hanging from the hoop") basketball show on Wednesday. "I watched the German football and it’s a sad sight. You hear the voices, you even hear the insults... you lose the intimacy of the better moments. "But you also have to understand it’s a business that generates lots of money, and even if the spectacle is a long way from that when there’s fans it can help in dealing with the confinement. "Watching football again or any other sport, as a fan it’s interesting," he added. Luis Enrique returned to his job as Spain coach in November after resigning last June to take care of his daughter, Xana, who died in August of cancer.