Barcelona Axe Setien As Manager
Barcelona have sacked manager Quique Setien after last week’s 8-2 humiliation at the hands of German champions Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Setien was only appointed in January as a replacement for Ernesto Valverde on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
Barcelona were level on points with Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table when Setien was appointed and the Blaugrana went into the coronavirus enforced break two points ahead of Los Blancos.
However once the season resumed in June, Barcelona dropped vital points and Zinedine Zidane’s men finished the campaign five points clear at the top of the table to win the title.
Setien’s position in the Camp Nou dugout became untenable once Barcelona suffered humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich last Friday and the former Real Betis manager has paid the price for their exit.
"The Board of Directors have agreed that Quique Setien is no longer the first-team coach," the club said in a statement.
"This is the first decision within a wider restructuring of the first team which will be agreed between the current technical secretary and the new coach, who will be announced in the coming days."
Netherlands manager and former Barcelona defender Ronald Koeman has been identified as the man to lead Barcelona into the 2020/2021 season, although another club legend, Xavi Hernandez, currently in charge of Qatari side Al-Sadd, remains the club’s first option for the long term.
Barcelona’s board also announced that elections will be held in March next year to elect a new club president.
