Why is the criticism of Barcelona manager Quique Setien unfair

Quique Setien arrived at Barcelona to save the club, to salvage an underwhelming season from ending in complete catastrophe. Barcelona have been far from an ideal club in recent years, but ever since the departure of Ernesto Valverde in 2017, the club went into a unique quandary.

Gone were the days of stylish, attacking, possession-based football, the style of play that made Barcelona synonymous with entertainment and glory. Instead, the man nicknamed Txingurri brought a pragmatic approach to the Blaugrana.

Valverde created Barcelona in his own image. A not-so-prolific but hardworking forward, work-rate and energy were the hallmarks of Valverde during his playing days.

If the former Athletic Bilbao manager’s football was dull and insipid, it was nevertheless effective. His Barcelona had the one attribute most important to win La Liga: consistency. Barcelona under Valverde had an outstanding ability to grind out positive results, even if they were not the most entertaining or visually appealing team to watch.

In the 2018-19 season, Barcelona went on a 23-game unbeaten streak that helped Valverde guide the Blaugrana to a second consecutive La Liga title. The team finished with 87 points, an incredible 19 points ahead of bitter rivals Real Madrid and 11 points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid.

The other side of Ernesto Valverde at Barcelona

Although the former Athletic Bilbao manager had a decent enough record in the league, it is for his horror shows in the UEFA Champions League that his tenure will be most infamously remembered for.

During the 2017-18 season, his first season in charge, Valverde lost the services of Neymar. We will never know how his approach would have been if he could have used the services of the talented Brazilian. Nevertheless, Valverde had other options at his disposal.

Ousmane Dembele is an example of a good player. Yet, the former Borussia Dortmund man is no replacement for Neymar, especially because the Brazilian’s chemistry with fellow South Americans Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez is what made Barcelona a threat for opponents.

There were other faults in Valverde as well. He knew that he was working with a core group of players whose average age was around 30 years. He thus decided to keep training sessions light, and let players enjoy time in the gym instead.

In an interview after he had been shipped to Russia, Malcom revealed that during his playing days at Barcelona, his manager Valverde kept training sessions as short as 45 minutes:

“Players at Barcelona don't train enough. At Zenit, we are now doing double training sessions, the truth is that here we train much more, that's why I got injured! At Barca, I only had 40-50 minutes of training.” - Malcom on Valverde

In truth, Valverde has always been a cautious individual. His commitment to his job is impeccable, and his reputation, spotless. He instinctively knew that to rigorously train his ageing Barcelona squad would only mean more fatigue and injuries. He wanted his teams fresh for matchday, an understandable objective.

Yet, this is where teams such as Liverpool can hurt you. Guided by Jurgen Klopp’s Gegenpressing way, the Anfield outfit are arguably the fittest side in world football. Their style is designed to dominate opponents, physically and aerially, and to win the ball back from the opposition as quickly as possible.

There was never any doubt that Barcelona would struggle at Anfield. However, to relinquish a three-goal lead, especially after a similar catastrophe had already taken place a year ago in Rome, seemed unthinkable. However, that is what exactly happened.

This also brings us to Valverde’s inability to fuel a sense of fire and burning desire in the team. All good managers are vocal and enthusiastic personalities, but Valverde seemed to operate best when quiet. He was hardly a vocal presence.

"It is what it is," he said after Barcelona's defeat to Liverpool, and we cannot help but blame him for his inability to psychologically prepare his players for the semifinal challenge.

Valverde also had a penchant for evasive comments such as:

“Over the season, the games come thick and fast, and sometimes you are not so lucky.”

There is often a tendency to shift the blame to outside forces, to things that are not in his control. Although Valverde contributed to Barcelona's cause by winning two consecutive La Liga titles, his management had the aforementioned critical flaws that cut short his reign at the Nou Camp.

Quique Setien needs at least a full season in charge of Barcelona

Quique Setien was brought in to take the Barcelona helm because Valverde began to start losing games. Despite losses, he ensured that Barcelona won the league. But it was not the case in other tournaments. Barcelona’s losses in cup finals cost Valverde his job.

Defeat against Valencia in the Copa del Rey in May 2019 was the beginning of his end. His last match in charge of Barcelona before being sacked was the 3-2 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup.

Quique Setien was brought in, first and foremost, because he considers himself a disciple of Johan Cruyff. He promised to bring free-flowing attacking football back to the Nou Camp.

To be fair, Barcelona do indeed pass more and keep the ball more often. However, perhaps his team does not play the kind of football that another disciple of Cruyff, Pep Guardiola, makes his teams play.

Setien’s critics argue that the new manager has only led the club from first place to second. However, to be fair, it is always difficult for a new person to step into a job and carry on like nothing ever changed.

We must not forget that Guardiola too lost his first Barcelona game in charge, and later Luis Enrique also faced severe difficulties and criticism before bouncing back in astonishing fashion by winning the club’s second treble.

Quique Setien needs at least one full season at Barcelona before we start putting value judgements on him, his career and work. If the match against Villareal is anything to go by, it tells us that he may be beginning to find his own winning formula.