Valverde sacked, Setien appointed

Photo: RTE

FC Barcelona have sacked Ernesto Valverde and moved swiftly to appoint Quique Setien as head coach on a two-year-contract.

After a series of poor results and a failure to capture a number of trophies that meet with the club’ standards, despite winning two league titles and a Copa Del Rey since his arrival in 2017, Valverde was relieved of his duties on Monday evening.

Valverde’s latest disappointment was getting knocked out of the Spanish Super Cup after losing in a dramatic semi-final to Atletico Madrid, a contest that saw the capital’s team win 3-2.

The 55-year-old was in the dugout when the Catalan side faced humiliating moments in the Champions League after being knocked out in the quarter-final and in the semi-final in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Valverde’s side were on the receiving end of two historical comebacks; losing to Roma after winning 4-1 in the Camp Nou and to Liverpool following an advantage of three clear goals. Moreover, a Copa Del Rey final loss to Valencia made matters worse.

With increasing pressure from the Catalan support, coupled with recent results, president Josep Bartomeu and the board decided to part ways with the former Athletic Bilbao manager and appoint ex Real Betis boss Quique Setien.

Barcelona had been linked to different candidates to take over. Club legend Xavi Hernandez, current manager of Al Sadd in Qatar, revealed he held talks with the club last week.

It is believed Setien’s style of coaching originated from John Cruyff’s total football philosophy, where one of Barcelona’s greatest players set the path out for its unique tactics in football.

With Cruyff as his model, the successor lead Betis to the sixth position on the table, qualified for the Europa League after finishing 15th in the previous campaign under Victor Sanchez. To add to that, the club from Seville reached the domestic cup’s semi-final for the first time since 2005.

The 61-year-old will be unveiled on Tuesday to the press.

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