Barcelona has fired Valverde on Monday night and replaced ‘El Txingurri’ with Quique Setien, former Real Betis manager. But who is he? By TikitaxBarca.
Born in 1958 in Santander, North of Spain, Quique was always devoted to football. Setien, from his young age, set his eyes on football rather than education. His abnormal way to see football was an advantage to him as he broke into his team, Racing de Santander, as he got his La Liga debut in 1977.
Setien was in fact an elegant and technical gifted central midfielder, which eventually led him to prominence. He hated physicality as he believed that football should be played with the brain, and not with the feet. He loved to dribble with his amazing technical skills. Afterwards, he moved to the Rojiblancos in 1985, under manager Luis Aragones, the one who “put the work intensity, pressure and demand into my DNA”. He then moved to Logroñes to only return back to Racing as he went on to retire in Levante in
1996.
His managerial career began obviously at Racing, where he has been surnamed ‘El Maestro’. He managed to promote the club in 2002, and helped other clubs gain a promotion as well: Logroñes, Las Palmas, and finally, Real Betis. Setien became known in Las Palmas & Betis, as he greatly upgraded both, implementing his offensive style of play.
Setien, now at Barça, will have to deal with a few problems
Firstly, authority. Under Valverde, the players often have had free days for no reason, even after terrible games, as a result of his lack of authority. Piqué as well as other players went on to ask for free days for personal activities, which once again Ernesto granted as he lacked the
authority to say ‘no’.
Furthermore, ‘El Txingurri’ didn’t bench those who should have been benched. Alba, Suarez, Rakitić..The list goes on. Valverde didn’t bench heavyweights despite terrible performances, which led to an overconfidence of the players. The players, as a consequence, didn’t always
give their best as they knew that they wouldn’t be benched, something Setien has already warned against: “The first teamers cannot relax. The first team players must know that the talents coming up will get their chance if they deserve it.”
It is true that Valverde has left a mess in Barcelona, and Setien will have to reorganize everything.
Secondly, the starters. Ernesto has implemented Griezmann as LW, but will Setien keep him like that? I highly doubt it. Especially with Suarez Out for 4 months, I would expect to see Griezmann as ST/CF. Or even someone of Barça B, As Setien has stated he plans to use La Masia, sign of our sacred values coming back.
Moreover, Setien has admitted being an admirer of Coutinho. And it therefore wouldn’t be a surprise to see Setien bringing Coutinho back from loan. Valverde didn’t manage to incorporate the Brazilian midfielder in the team, but Setien may have the key to the solution. Don’t forget other loanees either: Miranda, in Schalke04, and Oriol Busquets in FC Twente
could also come back. Whether he’ll promote other youngsters is another question.
Bottom line
Setien will face serious challenges in order to not overcrowd every position, something Ernesto hasn’t managed. More importantly, our style. Our style has been murdered, tortured, stoned to death by Valverde. Setien’s most important mission will be to bring our style back, something he normally
will manage as he is a Cruyffista.
Setien, the ball is on your court. Your turn to play.
Do you think Barcelona did the right move by hiring Setien? Write your opinion in the comment section.
Positional play expressed through all phases of play, a football fan that fell in love with the Beautiful Game over 10 years ago. Occasionally writes about FC Barcelona for Barca_Buzz, on tactics and attempts to explain the game to the casual eye.
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