‘It Finished Me’: Setien On FC Barcelona’s Darkest European Night

Quique Setien oversaw FC Barcelona's darkest night in Europe - an 8-2 loss to Hansi Flick's Bayern Munich. POOL/AFP via Getty Images Ex-FC Barcelona head coach Quique Setien took to the Senen Moran channel on YouTube to explain the club’s darkest European night. Setien was famously brought in midway through the 2019/2020 campaign to replace Ernesto Valverde, as an overreaction to a Spanish Super Cup exit in January of the latter year.

The pandemic swept in not long after, and the Champions League that term switched to a one-game tournament knockout format in Lisbon which pitted Barca against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals. To say that Hansi Flick ’s sextuple-winning outfit destroyed the Catalans would be putting it mildly. Exploiting their defensive and midfield frailties as Germany (with Flick as assistant manager) did in the 2014 World Cup semifinals, Barca suffered their darkest European night on the end of a 8-2 humbling.

Setien was unsurprisingly fired himself then replaced by Ronald Koeman . And six years on, he still doesn’t think he was given a fair shake. Setien claims to have suffered from FC Barcelona’s success One of the things that Setien pointed to was the likes of Lionel Messi and Co.

perhaps no longer being hungry for silverware. “The main problem I had was that they had been winning everything for 14 years, and when you win everything and know that you win 90% of the matches with relative ease, I think you relax mentally and don’t prepare properly,” Setien said. "But of course, when the decisive matches arrive, you’re not at 100% and you suffer.