Quique Setien’s greatest wins as a manager
After they parted ways with Ernesto Valverde, Barcelona have hired Quique Setien to be their club’s next manager. The 61-year-old appeared in over 500 games as a player between 1977 and 1996, then moved into management in 2001. The Barcelona job will be his eighth managerial role, but there will still be people who aren’t too familiar with the former Spain international. We’ve taken a look back at some of his best wins as a manager, some of these will explain how he’s ended up in the Camp Nou hot seat.
Racing Santander 1-0 Atletico Madrid - May 2002
After Racing Santander had won just one of their first eight Segunda Division games in the 2001/02 season, they sacked Gustavo Benitez and hired club legend Quique Setien. He immediately turned things around and on the penultimate game of the season, a 1-0 home win over leaders Atletico Madrid secured promotion, with Jose Moraton grabbing the winner.
Las Palmas 2-0 Real Sociedad - November 2015
In October 2015, after spells with Poli Ejido, Equatorial Guinea and Logrones, Setien became the new manager of La Liga side Las Palmas. He took over when they were in the relegation zone and they needed a win desperately. He got his first win in November, a 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad and that got the ball rolling for a potential relegation escape.
Deportivo 1-3 Las Palmas - April 2016
A run of six wins from seven games steered Las Palmas to safety. The last of those wins, a 3-1 away victory over Deportivo, was the once that pretty much secured Las Palmas’ survival and they actually ended up finishing in 11th place.
Las Palmas 4–1 Real Betis - April 2017
In March 2017, Setien announced that he would be leaving Las Palmas at the end of the season due to disagreements with the club’s board. The club ended the season in horrendous form, winning just one of their final 10 games. That win, a 4–1 victory over Real Betis, may have helped him earn his next move and also kept Las Palmas clear of the drop zone.
Real Madrid 0–1 Real Betis - September 2017
Just a few weeks into his reign at the new manager of Real Betis, Setien guided his team to a 1-0 win away at Real Madrid. Betis rode their luck at times as Madrid squandered chance after chance. The away side looked set to secure a 0-0 draw but in injury time, Antonio Sanabria hit Madrid with a sucker punch, heading past Kaylor Navas to give Betis their first La Liga win at the Bernabeu in 19 years.
Real Betis 1–0 Las Palmas - April 2018
This was game that probably meant a lot to Setien personally, given his fall out with the Las Palmas board. Betis went into this game having won five league games on the spin, meaning they were very much in the mix for a European place. The game looked set to end 0-0 but an injury-time header from Junior Firpo earned Betis three valuable points as they continued their winning run. They ended up finishing in sixth place, thus earning Europa League qualification.
AC Milan 1-2 Real Betis - October 2018
Betis secured a famous win at the San Siro in the Europa League group stage thanks in part to a stunning goal from Giovani Lo Celso, who put the Spanish side 2-1 up with an amazing 30-yard strike. That win helped Betis qualify for the knockout stages.
Real Betis 1–0 Atletico Madrid - February 2019
Atletico Madrid were doing all they could to push for a La Liga title win in 2019, but their hopes were dented massively as they lost 1-0 away to Setien’s Betis. Atleti could have closed the gap at the top to three points after Barcelona had drawn 2-2 with Valencia, but the home side defended well and even debutant Alvaro Morata couldn’t break them down. The only goal of the game was a penalty from Sergio Canales, who slotted home the spot-kick that was awarded when Filipe Luis was penalised for a handball.
Barcelona 3-4 Real Betis - November 2018
Setien’s Betis side inflicted Barcelona’s first home defeat in a league match in two years with an excellent display at the Camp Nou. Goals from Junior Firpo and Joaquin gave the away side a deserved 2-0 half-time lead, but when Lionel Messi scored a penalty just before the 70th minute, plenty doubted if Betis could hold on. They did more than hold on though as Giovani Lo Celso but them 3-1 up. Arturo Vidal’s tap-in gave Barca hope of snatching a point, but Sergio Canales got the away side’s fourth goal with just seven minutes to go. Messi scored in injury time but Betis held on to secure a great win.
Real Madrid 0-2 Real Betis - May 2019
In his last game in charge of Betis, Setien became the first manager to away victories against both Real Madrid and Barcelona in the same La Liga season. Goals from Loren Moron and Jese earned the away side their historic win.
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