Quique Setién: “At Barça, I wasn’t myself”

“At Barça, I wasn’t myself. I look at photos from that time and I don’t recognise myself.” Speaking on the “Quien Marca Gana” podcast, Quique Setién, 68, reflected on his spell at FC Barcelona and an experience that left a deep impression on him. “I wasn’t myself because that’s not who I am. I either couldn’t do it or didn’t know how,” he said.

The coach also compared the atmosphere in Barcelona with what he had experienced earlier at Betis. He described life in the dressing room as “extraordinary”, but said things did not work the same way in Barcelona, adding that he had “lots of stories” he would not tell. Setién admitted he had not enjoyed the opportunity as much as he would have liked, despite initially viewing it as “spectacular”. “It was very difficult and I wasn’t really happy. I didn’t enjoy being at that team as much as I should have.”

He also discussed the challenge of introducing his ideas to players accustomed to a particular style of play. “When you sign for Barcelona, you arrive somewhere where you don’t have to do anything,” he said, before recounting that some players worth 80 million euros did not understand football.

A great admirer of Leo Messi, Setién told him he had spent 14 years waiting for Barcelona matches to watch him play. He also recalled being urged not to go to Egypt because he might sign for Barcelona, only to receive a call three days later telling him to get on a plane and sign for the club that afternoon.