Barcelona Opt For The Man Who Would Have Willingly Cut His Finger For Club Legend Cruyff News

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Barcelona Opt For The Man Who Would Have Willingly Cut His Finger For Club Legend Cruyff

By Daily Sports on January 14, 2020

When Barcelona officials flew over to Qatar recently to convince their legend Xavi to take over the reigns as coach of the Blaugrana, they expected to bring an end to the reign of Ernesto Velvarde as coach immediately. But they were unsuccessful in convincing Xavi to become coach and were left red-faced and in considerable disarray.

Well, now Barcelona have announced that Quique Setien is their new coach and there is a degree of excitement that the man who led Real Betis to the Europa league last season while playing beautiful football would be able to restore the glorious style of play that Barca have been known for many years, which unfortunately seemed lost for long under Velverde.

Setien 61, led Betis to their highest finish since 2005 and to the Copa del Rey semis before leaving in May.

I watched Real Betis beat Barcelona sometime last year at the Camp Nou and was surprised by how they outplayed their more illustrious opponent, completely out-passing Barca on the day.

Betis also secured wins over Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid during his two-year tenure. This should give Barcelona fans some hope amid the relative confusion that had followed the team in recent times.

It also helps that Setien is a man that has always been enthralled about Barcelona. Apart from being committed to a style based on possession and technique, the former Spain international is a professed admirer of Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi, and once said he would have cut off his finger to play for Johan Cruyff.

As for Velvarde, my heart goes out to him. He has always cut the figure of a complete gentleman, hassles free and one who tried to keep Barca on the winning path with professional diligence.

However, his sack was always coming. The manner of the club’s collapse in the last to Champions League competitions when the let slip heavy first round wins in the knockout stages to Roma and Liverpool respectively clearly undermined his job as it suggested a failure to correct a crucial weakness of his team and a similar dramatic collapse in the Spanish Super Cup match against Athletico Madrid when they 2-3 having led till just a few minutes to go proved to be the final straw.

Below is Spanish football expert Andy West’s view on the sack of Valverde and the appointment of Setien. It makes for interesting reading for me.

“The most surprising thing about Ernesto Valverde being fired by Barcelona is that it took so long to happen.

“Ever since that earth-shattering night at Anfield in May, Valverde never really looked capable of turning around the team's pretty aimless path.

“Now that task will fall to former Las Palmas and Real Betis manager Quique Setien, who will be fervently focused on restoring the team’s famed fast-paced, high-pressing, incisive-passing style, which had been slowly eroded by the more pragmatic Valverde.

“Setien – whose stubborn nature makes him a divisive figure across Spain – is a devout disciple of Cruyffian football, and from now on it is certain that Barca will once again play ‘Barca’ football.

“Whether they can play it well, though, is another matter – the ageing legs of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba may struggle to maintain the physical intensity required to make that approach successful, and the coming months will be fascinating test of whether a high-minded football philosophy can still deliver result.”