Idealists are very important people in this world. They are not always successful. Glory often comes to them many years after their death. And sometimes they are never recognized. But these people always clearly follow their ideas and principles. They don’t know the word commitment. You can love them for it, you can hate them or consider them fools. But they are. And believe me, they don’t care what you think of them.
The first resignation as coach took place in the Spanish championship. One of the main idealists in La Liga in recent years, Quique Setién, has lost his position. He started the championship badly with Villarreal (three points in the first four days), and now with free bread.
Quique Setien
Photo: Rafa Babot/Getty Images
For those who follow La Liga, Setién is synonymous with wall-and-run football. This is how all their teams played, at least the ones that played in the big leagues. Setién never focused on the squad, he came and just played his football. And then, as it will be, so it will be.
This is what happened in Villarreal. Setién came to an emergency at the start of last season when Unai Emery made a sudden move to Aston Villa. And at first things went badly: Quique got his first victory at the helm of Villarreal only in the fifth game. But then the team absorbed their demands and ran! Result: fifth place and ticket to the Europa League.
In the Europa League the composition of the groups is already known:
The Europa League has its own “group of death”. But everything else is pretty predictable.
But the end result is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, Villarreal has been talking all season. Successful series were replaced by failures, brilliant matches alternated with those from which blood flowed from the eyes. If Villarreal had been a bit more stable, they might well have finished fourth and reached the Champions League. But stability has nothing to do with Setién.
Setién is fun, goals, aesthetics on the soccer field. It is better for him to lose 3-4 to Barcelona, lose 0-2 on the road, and then lead 3-2, than consistently win 1-0. Setién is the Don Quixote of Spanish football: an idealist who remains firm in his line, regardless of circumstances, trends and external demands.
The match between Villarreal and Barça was incredibly fun:
Full Spanish League match coverage and highlights are available on Okko.
Villarreal’s failures at the start of the new season are not just Setién’s fault. This summer, the club from the outskirts of Valencia sold several key players at once: Nicholas Jackson, Samuel Chukwueze and Pau Torres. In addition, the goalkeeper Jerónimo Rulli went to Ajax in January.
Jackson and Chukwueza were more or less replaced in attack, both by inside reserves and newcomers such as Alexander Searlot and Ben Brereton. But Pau Torres and Rulli were not replaced by anyone.
Key points about summer transfers in Spain:
Brilliant “Real”, cunning “Atletico” and the hysteria of “Barcelona”. The main signings of the summer in Spain
Pepe Reina, who has just turned 41, played in goal in the second part of last season. And now the Danish Philip Jorgensen, 21, plays. He is a capable guy, he will make a difference for sure. But now he simply cannot completely replace Rulya – they are still players of different levels.
The same goes for defense: to replace Spaniard Pau Torres, Villarreal took Milan reserve Matteo Gabbia out of the bag. In Milan, Gabbia was the fifth center back. Even veteran Simon Chier, who recently suffered a torn cruciate ligament, was quoted better by Stefano Pioli. He seems to be saying something.
Matteo Gabbia and Philip Jorgensen
Photo: Fake Images
Of course, the loss of the main goalkeeper and the center-back affected Villarreal’s results. But! Does this mean that all of Setién’s problems would be solved if the club bought a suitable replacement for Rulha and Pau Torres? No.
Rugli and Pau Torres did not solve Villarreal’s problems. They masked them. Even when these players were at Setién’s disposal, Villarreal was very unbalanced. In defense, the team almost never played “to zero”, regularly missing counterattacks. And this was not only in matches against the best players, but also against opponents who are inferior in class to Villarreal. A clear example is the February match against Mallorca. Villarreal scored two but conceded four! He missed a team that scored only 37 goals in 38 games.
Full Spanish League match coverage and highlights are available on Okko.
For Setién’s combined and deep football to give results, elite players are needed. Villarreal never had them and most likely never will. It is not the size of a club. Will they invite Setién to a club that can afford these artists? Very, very unlikely.
Quique already had a reputation as a provincial coach who never earned anything, and now, after his dismissal from Villarreal, that reputation will only be reinforced. Also, if we talk about big clubs, Setién flew to Barcelona. He came flying because he was there for a very short time, he fought with everyone and finally lost to Bayern 2: 8.
Setién will not give up his style of play. In three weeks he will be 65, too late to change. If he wanted to, he would have done it a long time ago. Kike will play the football that he loves, the one that is close to him. Nothing more should be expected of him. So, in teams with big ambitions, you don’t have to wait for him either.
Quique Setien
Photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
Setién is a master at forming teams that shoot. So he had both Las Palmas and Betis. Nothing special was expected from these teams then (Betis played in the Second Division shortly before the arrival of Setién, and Las Palmas in general in the 21st century plays more often in the Second Division than in La Liga). But with Quique they surprised everyone with his courage and style. It was nice to see them, they were opening teams.
But still, it is completely different to work in clubs, where you are not valued only for your courage and style, but also need a result. Setién is not suitable for this type of team. This does not mean that he is a bad coach. He’s good (like Mukunku), he just needs to be in his place. Do not demand what he is not capable of giving.
Full Spanish League match coverage and highlights are available on Okko.
Setién’s last game at Villarreal turned out to have the same breadth as his entire stage at this Club. We played against Cádiz, we won 1-0, but in the end we lost 1-3. At Villarreal, the defender Pedraza was eliminated in the first half and Setién himself was also eliminated. In addition, at halftime, Quique and Pepe Reina were about to fight with the midfielder Alejo from Cádiz. In general, everything is in the Setian style: fun, bright, festive… and without result.
Now Setién will probably go to his beloved estate, where he retired after his scandalous separation from Barça. Pasture the cows, rest, recharge your batteries. And then welcome back to La Liga! Sooner or later there will be teams that decide to change their coach. And then why don’t they invite Kike?
Summary of the 4th day of the Spanish championship:
Video
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