New Villarreal Coach Quique Setien says he should leave Barcelona job after only a month in charge due to difficulty in fulfilling the role he wanted.
Setien, 64, said a number of habits had formed that he couldn’t change and forced him to compromise his coaching style.
The former Barca coach also talked about the difficulties he went through while coaching Lionel Messialthough he said he wanted to keep in mind the positive elements of Paris Saint-Germain in front of.
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“Barca is the team I’ve always dreamed of coaching, but if you see things that can’t be changed, you should leave.” he told El Larguero on Thursday after his first game in charge of Villarreal, a 2-2 draw against Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the Europa Conference League.
“But it’s the opportunity you’ve always dreamed of. And come through one door and go through another next month like [Jose Antonio] Camacho did [at Real Madrid in 1998]… There was a time when I thought about that, but you’re past those moments. If something doesn’t fit, you shouldn’t be hypocritical.”
Setien took over at Barca in January 2020 after Ernesto Valverde was sacked. He was sacked in August of the same year after missing out on the LaLiga title against Madrid and losing 8-2 to the team Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
“When you go to a club that has won everything for 14 years … there are some routines that I have never seen,” he added.
“There are things you can’t change because they’re established and it’s not an easy situation. It was a huge learning experience. I would do it again, no doubt. You learn from everything to become better in the future.”
Setien’s relationship with some of Barca’s key players at the time was one of the main reasons he failed to succeed at Camp Nou. He admits that working with Messi is not always simple.
“It’s not worth talking about Messi,” he said when asked about Argentina International. “Everybody should remember how he was, for me, a permanent attraction in football for 14 years. I spent 14 years watching Barça games and waiting to face him to win. can see him [live].
“That’s how I want to remember Messi. I can’t say he let me down or not. There are things I like and other things I don’t like and I have to fight with that. If above all, he He scored three goals. you in every game, you can’t predict anything. There are always players that can be harder to deal with than those you give certain allowances.”
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Setien had previously threatened to take Barca to court for the money they owe him since his termination, but he said they were on track with his payments.
“Barcelona still owes me money but they are following the schedule religiously,” he said. “I gave them three years to pay me and they are doing so.”
Villarreal lost 3-0 to Barcelona last week ahead of Setien’s appointment. He won’t face his old side until February, when they host Xavi Hernandez’s side in LaLiga.
Villarreal’s job is Setien’s first since he left Barca more than two years ago.
“I don’t believe I’ll get a chance somewhere where I might fit,” he said. “It was a great surprise. Villarreal has a coach [Unai Emery, who left for Aston Villa] who did a great job and it looks like this job won’t come up.
“I had offers, but nothing really appealed to me. I was supposed to go to the United States, I was attracted to the county, but then I got an unexpected call to come here.”
