Barça begins the Quique Setién era.

Well, it finally happened. FC Barcelona fired Ernesto Valverde on Monday and brough in Quique Setién as the club’s newest manager. Things had to change and Barça finally decided to become proactive by being reactive and firing Valverde following their loss to Atletico Madrid in the revamped Spanish Super Cup. Valverde’s era was bittersweet with some success but the disappointments will haunt him forever. Quique Setién now is the man to lead the charge and it won’t be easy.

We really were spoilt under the presidency of Joan Laporta. During his reign, the Blaugrana only had two managers, Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola. Since then, the Blaugrana have had five different managers. Elections are not that far away so we shall see if Quique Setién will still be the manager by then. For the time being, he has a tough task of rejuvenating a team that has slept walk this season.

Time will tell if Quique Setién was the right hire or not. Valverde came highly rated by many and in the end, many were glad to see him leave. He is already facing one difficult task of finding out what is the best formation and lineup for this team. The absence of Luis Suárez, out with an injury, and Carles Aleñá, out on loan, leaves him somewhat shorthanded. The first area of concern is whether the board will support Quique Setién or work against him. Will they bring him the players he wants or will they sign players they want without his input or approval?

With Suárez out, it’s time for Griezmann to shine but will others also step up? The team has regressed defensively and Setién will not only have to address that issue, but also improve their mental confidence which has become an issue when things don’t go their way. Hopefully Setién will also entrust La Masia and give more minutes to Barça B players such as Riqui Puig with the first team. It’s foolish to expect a quick turn around under Setién but it does feel good to feel optimistic about Barca again.

Valverde’s Reign of Error is Over.

Barça finally decided that it was time for a change. After witnessing the same uninspiring dull football, the Barça board decided to pull the trigger and give Ernesto Valverde the boot. Although Valverde will go down in the Blaugrana history books as a successful manager, his era will mostly be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Valverde managed Barça to two league crowns, one Copa del Rey title and one Spanish Super Cup in two and a half seasons. The last time Barça fired a manager during the season was during Louis van Gaal’s second stint with the club in 2002-2003 season which lasted only a few months. Coincidentally, both Valverde and van Gaal share common similarities.

Louis van Gaal also won two league crowns, one Copa del Rey title and one Spanish Super Cup in his first stint with Barça. Unlike Valverde, he was able to coach his entire third season with the Blaugrana. However, both had disappointing results in the Champions League. While Valverde’s teams imploded in the knockout stages, van Gaal’s teams never managed to advance from the group stages in his first two seasons although they managed to get embarrassed in the Semi-Finals of the 1999-2000 season.

Valverde’s time will not be looked back kindly even with all that success he accomplished. His lack of improving players and lack of playing Barça youth players along with the dull direct football he subjected the Blaugrana faithful to endure will be hard for us to forget or forgive. However, he will forever be haunted by those European exits are what nightmares are made of. Bottling those 3 goal aggregate leads where he completely got outcoached will always mark this era as Valverde’s reign of error.