‘A lot of things surprised me’ – Quique Setién issues subtle dig as he lifts lid on ill-fated Barcelona stint | OneFootball

Former Barcelona boss Quique Setién has lifted the lid on his ill-fated time at Camp Nou.

Many believed Setién and Barca could be a match made in heaven given the 62-year-old’s uncompromising view of the game.

But around eight months in, after a hammering at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Setién was sacked, leaving his Barca ‘dream’ in pieces.

Nevertheless, the former Betis and Las Palmas boss does not regret his decision to take over at Camp Nou, regardless of how abrupt his spell turned out to be.

“I have paid the price I have had to pay,” he told Cadena Ser, as published by Marca.

“To sign for Barcelona, I don’t regret it, it was a dream, but when I was there, I found out a lot of things that surprised me, very, very complicated situations that I could not resolve, or that I had to make other decisions.

“But now there is no going back. It has been a very difficult time for the club and a series of things have happened.

“I have my portion of the blame as coach, but not all of it.”

In discussing the ‘very complicated situations’, Setién likely refers to the difficult time Barca went through during his spell at the club in the back-end of Josep Maria Bartomeu’s tenure at the helm as president.

Bartomeu was not popular with supporters, who prepared a vote in no confidence against him, leading to his resignation and a subsequent election.

Joan Laporta has now returned to the club, and Setién will be kicking himself that his appointment did not come a year later with fresh hope the club can return to its peak.

Though, challenges aplenty remain, as current boss Ronald Koeman has found out in recent months.