Barcelona have sacked Ernesto Valverde after two-and-a-half years in charge at the Nou Camp.
Defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup at the weekend was the final straw for a man whose glaring failures in the Champions League had been covered up by successive La Liga titles.
Valverde has relied heavily on Lionel Messi to come up with the goods, something he has done time and time again, and struggled to get the best out of big money signings like Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.
Barcelona will now turn to former Real Betis manager Quique Setien as they eye a hat-trick of league wins as well as renewed sense of optimism in Catalunya.
(Image: AFP)
But the question on many people’s lips will be obvious…
Who is Quique Setien?
Setien is a 61-year-old Spanish football manager who has taken charge of a host of clubs in Spain.
He is yet to land a big job, although that is about to change, despite taking charge of Racing Santander back in 2001.
Setien’s playing career peaked when he spent three years at Atletico Madrid winning the Spanish Super Cup in 1985.
Who does Quique Setien manage?
Setien is currently readily available which will have no doubt factored into Barcelona’s thinking when targeting Valverde’s successor.
He left Real Betis in the summer following two years in charge in which he led them to two top ten finishes.
Since then he has remained out of work, but was heavily linked with the Barcelona job in the summer when it first looked as if Valverde would be shown the door.
Why do Barcelona want Quique Setien?
Setien was credited with trying to play the Barcelona way – something the Nou Camp crowd haven’t necessarily been treated to in recent years.
He did his best to implement the possession-based system at Betis, but the lack of a centre forward capable of linking the play made it difficult.
Barcelona will believe he has the pieces to play the way the crowd want with the likes of Sergio Busquets and Frenkie De Jong in midfield supplying Messi and the attacking line.
What has Quique Setien won?
Simply answer this – nothing.
That said, Barcelona have never cared much for a stellar CV, instead more concerned with the coach’s character and footballing ethos.
Worth remembering that Pep Guardiola had won nothing when he was promoted from the B team. The same can be said for his successor Tito Vilanova who had never had a major managerial role.
Luis Enrique, the treble winning coach of 2015, had less than 100 games of coaching experience outside Catalunya.
