Welcome back to TalkBarca. Today, we are going to talk about the career of Quique Setien as a manager. We all know that Valverde is finally sacked as the manager of FC Barcelona after a long spell of errors and disappointments. The man in charge now is Quique Setien, and we are hopeful of a new beginning. Quique is an old customer when it comes to dealing with Spanish football and this is why we are here to take a brief look at his career.
QUIQUE SETIEN – FULL CAREER AS A MANAGER
Setien is a very experienced manager, probably the most experienced manager when it comes to Spanish Football. He also played football back in the days at the Central Midfield position. Fans always admired his knowledge about the game and his passing ability and nicknamed him “El Maestro”. He began his coaching in 2001 with Racing which is also the club where he enjoyed his glory days as a player.
Quique Setien has spent almost all his time in Spain which makes him the right contender to manage a Spanish club. He is also known to be an attacking oriented manager, which is surely what FC Barcelona needs. Setien is also heavily inspired by Johan Cruyff and his philosophy. He once quoted:
“I remember when Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona came along. You played against them, and you spent the whole match running after the ball. How can you get a team to have the ball permanently so that the opponent is running after it for the whole match?”
<~~Quique Setien~~>
Setien got inspiration from Johan Cryuff and combined it with his own ideas to make sure his team plays beautiful football. This shows that he is going to bring exactly what we need at the moment. Anyways, let’s take a look at the teams Quique Setien has managed throughout his career as a manager and what did he bring to those clubs.
Racing:
Quique was appointed as a manager for Racing FC on October 4, 2001. He remained in charge for 269 days until 30th June 2002. During his time at Racing, he managed a total of 36 matches. Out of those 36 matches, he won 18, lost 8, and drew 10 games. These are some decent stats when you consider managing a team like Racing. To be honest, Setien could have stayed at Racing for a much longer period. However, he got some issues with the board over his authority and decided to quit the club.
Poli Ejido:
Quique was appointed for Poli Ejido on July 1, 2003, and stayed until November 17, 2003. Poli Ejido is the club where he spent the fewest days as a manager. He managed 13 games there, won 2, lost 7, and drew 4 games. That’s got to be his worst stats as a manager. We cannot judge his quality over his performance with Poli Ejido simply because that team was already a mess when Setien came in. He tried to integrate his philosophy and ideas but didn’t get enough time to get the team back on track.
Equatorial Guinea National Team:
Setien was also called up to manage the Guinea National Team. He spent 364 days with Guinea National Team as a manager. He was appointed on 1st July 2006 and stayed until 30th June 2007. During his time, he managed only 1 game and lost it. This counts up as a win percentage of 0%, thus a total flop for the team. But look, you cannot judge the performance of a manager based on 1 game only.
Logrones:
Quique also managed the Division Three club, Logrones. He spent 230 days as a manager, yet managed only 20 games. Out of those 20 games, he won 5, drew 6, and lost 9 games. Yes, it’s not a record you would expect from FC Barcelone. But again, that team was nowhere near the quality of Barcelona. Even our B team was better than Logrones. So, if you look at these stats with respect to the team at hand, these stats start looking better.
CD Lugo:
Lugo is another club that Quique managed. He took charge of the club on 1st July 2009 and stayed till 30th June 2015. Lugo is the club where Quique Setien spent most of his time as a Manager. His managerial tenure at Lugo lasted for 2190 days. Furthermore, he managed the most number of games at Lugo that sums up to 137 games. He won 45, lost 52, and drew 40 games during his managerial era at Lugo.
He built a good reputation with Lugo. His time at CD Lugo was a huge success which attracted La Liga Clubs to offer him a job. It was Las Palmas who took the chance on Setien as a desperate move.
Las Palmas:
Las Palmas appointed Quique Setien as their Manager in October 2015 when they were languishing in Relegation Zone. They were without hope or any realistic ambition to remain in La Liga that season. They brought Setien hoping he would tackle the situation, or even if he couldn’t, he should be able to get them out of Segunda next season.
However, Las Palmas was transformed under Setien. He came into that club and rejuvenated them. He brought them back to life. What he did there was remarkable. Las Palmas ended that season not just staying out of the relegation zone but they finished in 11th place. It wasn’t just the fact that he kept them up and got them some points. That had nothing to do with Setien’s achievements. The real achievement was that he didn’t just transform the club’s fortune in terms of result, he transformed the club entirely.
During the 2015/16 season, Las Palmas was one of the most entertaining teams to watch in La Liga. If you remember that Las Palmas team, you would see that they had players who didn’t have the right to perform the way they did. Quique Setien made Kevin Prince Boateng looked like a world-beater with 10 La Liga goals. If he can make Boateng score 10 goals, what can he do with Barcelona Players? He makes players better and brings out the qualities they never knew they had.
Quique Setien managed 78 games during his 620 days at the club. He won 26, lost 34, and drew 18 games. Setien left Las Palmas on 18 March 2017 due to a dispute with the Board over signings and certain promises. Las Palmas got relegated the very next season he left. This gave a boost to Quique Setien’s reputation as a manager.
Real Betis:
Real Betis is probably the most popular club in this list and many people know Setien through Real Betis only. His time at Betis was a success. Setien managed 95 games for Betis won 39, lost 34, and drew 22 games. He came in Betis after they had one of their worst campaigns finishing at a miserable 15th place. Betis had lost any sense of identity. Just like Las Palmas, Setien came in Betis, brought the club back to its feet, and united everybody. Again, it was not just about results and getting points. It’s about transforming the entire identity of the club. He transformed Betis’s playing style from erratic and disjointed football to calculated and possession-based domination.
Just like his Las Palmas side, it was a joy to watch Real Betis with Quique Setien as their manager. His Betis team wasn’t afraid of anyone. They went to Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou but didn’t care how big their opponents were. They dominated Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in their homes with their style and philosophy. Real Betis finished the season in 6th place in La Liga with Quique Setien as their Manager. In doing so, they qualified for Europa League and they fully deserved it. In the next season, they couldn’t deal with La Liga and European commitments because the club didn’t have a huge budget to reinforce their squad.
Setien would have loved to get a top-class center forward because they created so many chances but there was no one to finish them. Anyways, Setien left Betis at the start of 2019/20 season due to conflicts at the Board level. If you look at Real Betis, they are struggling after the departure of Setien. And this is the most important thing about Setien, he makes things happen.
FC Barcelona:
Now, Quique is appointed as a manager for FC Barcelona and the fans expect a lot from him. We are going to see how well and how long he lasts as a manager. There is a reason why we are so excited to see Quique Setien with an even better group of players that he has ever had in his career as a manager. Because he makes things happen. He plays pleasing football that we all want to sit down and watch. At least our philosophy and style of play are coming back to our club. When Setien was unveiled as the Manager of FC Barcelona, he said:
“I Guarantee One Thing, My Team Will Play Well”
<~~Quique Setien~~>
Verdict:
Anyway, this is it for the review of the whole career of Quique Setien as a Manager. I hope you like our content. Are you as much excited as I am about the appointment of Quique Setien as the Manager of Barcelona? What do you expect from our new manager? Make sure to drop your feedback in the comments section below. There is a lot more to come, so, stay tuned. Until next time, Visca El Barca!
