Quique Setien failed to deliver on promise of style during Barcelona reign

Farewell: Setien was axed as Barcelona boss on Monday
AFP via Getty Images
Ben Hayward18 August 2020

When Quique Setien was appointed as Barcelona coach in January, he spoke enthusiastically about the principles of Johan Cruyff and a return to the club's playing traditions.

After two-and-a-half years of more conservative football under Ernesto Valverde, the purists purred. For many, even results seemed secondary as he vowed to get Barca "enjoying their football again".

Setien claimed he wanted to "win everything" and revealed he set out to do so by playing in the right way. The Barca way. Ultimately, he achieved neither.

In his first game, Barca played more than 1,000 passes, but needed a late Lionel Messi goal to defeat 10-man Granada at Camp Nou. Some signs were good, others less so.

Three matches in, the 61-year-old abandoned his three-man back line and as time went by, his line-ups looked increasingly like those of his predecessor.

Various other formations were used, but by the end of the season and after the return of Luis Suarez from injury, Setien was doing virtually the same as Valverde – and with inferior results.

"With Ernesto we did some things well and others badly,” an unnamed Barca player told El Pais. “Now we have stopped doing the good things, and the bad things are worse.”

His presentation promise of trusting La Masia and young players did not really materialise, either. Riqui Puig was at least used, but then inexplicably discarded despite some superb showings – and he may have only featured at all because Barca were selling Arthur to Juventus against the midfielder's wishes.

Some performances remained good. The 4-1 win at Villarreal was a highlight as everything clicked. It was optimistically described as a turning point, but would turn out to be a false dawn.

By that time, LaLiga was already slipping away. Setien, who had complained of the five substitutions after lockdown and also about a lack of preparation time, appeared negative in his outlook and always claimed it would be difficult for his side to win all their games after the restart in June.

Later, Messi corrected him. "We are Barca and we have to win every game," the Argentine said. The club captain also claimed – and later repeated – that the Catalans would not win the Champions League by playing how they were prior to the break.

Setien disagreed and remained upbeat. "If we play like we did against Villarreal," he said. "I'm sure it will be good enough to win the Champions League." It seemed incredibly naive.

After the 0-0 draw at Sevilla, the former Real Betis coach had also shrugged off the significance of the fact that five out of six starters in midfield and attack were over the age of 30.

"When you are older, you think and decide better," he said. "It's not a question of how much ground you cover, but about getting it right in certain situations. And that comes from thinking better, not from running more."

Again, it seemed an idealistic view and against Bayern Munich, Barca were brutally and ruthlessly exposed by a younger, faster and physically stronger side with a bolder tactical plan.

The Catalans' 8-2 defeat was about as bad as could be imagined as everything went wrong in Lisbon. In truth, Bayern always looked likely to be superior, yet Setien's conservative line-up and tactics meant Barca did not even really press the Bavarians' fragile back line after the opening 10 minutes of the game.

The Bayern loss was Setien's fifth in 25 games, which was very similar to Valverde's record of four in 26 earlier in the season. The Cantabrian did not prove to be a step up from his predecessor, winner of back-to-back leagues in his first two seasons at Camp Nou.

In Pictures | Barcelona v Bayern Munich, Champions League | 14/08/2020

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And even though a change of coach and tactics in mid-season were always going to make things tough, Setien seemed to betrayed his ideas way before the end.

Friday's 8-2 humiliation saw the campaign end without a trophy for Barca for the first time since 2007-08 and was the worst result in the club's modern-day history, yet Setien's inability to deliver on his promise of style was perhaps the biggest disappointment of all.

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