Ex-Barcelona Coach Quique Setien Breaks Silence, Rues Tenure

Quique Setien knew taking over as manager of FC Barcelona would not be an easy task. There were high expectations on his shoulders after he replaced Ernesto Valverde earlier this year. It was a precarious situation, but the 62-year-old knew the odds were against him.

Setien’s fate was sealed when Barca lost to FC Bayern Munich, 8-2, in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The result drew a lot of criticism, at the top of which was the fact that the conceded eight goals were the most conceded by the Catalan giants since 1951. That led to his dismissal in August.

After failing to turn things around for Barca, Setien revealed that it was a forgettable tenure. That loss to Bayern appeared to be the highlight of his firing, but the Spanish coach said that he knew that he would be on his way out even before that.

"I take my share of the blame. All the same, one day I will write about it. After my sacking, I found out that the decision had been made since before the 8-2. I heard about everything," Setien told ex-Spain coach Vicente del Bosque in an interview with El Pais.

With most looking at that thrashing as the main reason for his dismissal, Setien explained that he did not have much room to implement the system that he wanted. It was a forgettable part of his run as a manager despite having the best talent in the sport at his disposal.

"I was not myself. I couldn't be, or didn't know how to be, that is the truth," Setien explained. "In the end, the tension was too much. But really, there are situations that in a different context and in different circumstances I could have been different. There was no time to think or to work."

Among the players that he had to coach was Lionel Messi. Setien admitted it was hard to manage the Argentine star and that it would have been hard to have the 33-year-old align with his outlook.

"He's very reserved but he makes you see the things that he wants. He doesn't talk much," Setien said.

Moving forward, Setien is bound to be back at the helm with another club. And it appears his next destination could be Palmeiras.

Setien is one of the leading candidates for the position, with former Real Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze also vying for the position, Globo Esporte reported.