At the beginning of the past month of January, after the elimination of the FC Barcelona in the Supercopa of Spain against the Athletic of Madrid, the Barcelona club decided to do without the services of Ernesto Valverde to relieve him by Quique Setién. The arrival of the trainer santanderino has supposed a change of style, but the results have not improved since it arrived.
To level of numbers, Setién has achieved 64% of victories, by 62% that had his predecessor. Although it also is true that the Cantabrian has lost three parties of the 11 played, whereas the Txingurri had lost only four of 26. To level of competitions, from the change in the bench, the Barça has lost the Glass of Rey and the leadership in LaLiga, whereas with Valverde lost the Supercopa of Spain.
To level of game, in the FC Barcelona himself has seen a light change of style. With Setién, the team is less direct and more adherent to protect with the balloon. Something that saw especially in the first time of the Classical, with a game of control that, however, lost in the second time accusing an evident spill physicist. Even and like this, the change is not noticing to level of results.
Also it is necessary to take into account a key factor that prejudices a lot to Setién: the injury of long length of Luis Suárez. Valverde Could explain until his dismissal with the Uruguayan forward, big partner of Leo Messi sibre the terrain of game and, then, second maximum goleador of the team. The new technician found , from the first day, without the Uruguayan, something that for the moment is noticing a lot.
To level of leadership of the players, the change that has contributed Setién is lower of what expected . In fact, without explaining to the lesionado Luis Suárez, the only evolution that has seen in the eleven type of the Cantabrian technician with regard to Valverde is that, in the axis of the defence, now Samuel Umtiti is to title by in front of Clément Lenglet. The rest of the team keeps on being almost the same and, almost always, with the same diagram 4-3-3 (excepting the 4-4-2 of the Classical).
A change on a long-term basis
Unlike Ernesto Valverde, that is a trainer that adapts his style to the team in which it is, Quique Setién is a technician with the very clear ideas that only trusts a determinate style of game. Thus, a month and half is not sufficient to judge his work and maybe the fruits of his change finish seeing more advance. Without pre-season of by half and with immediate requirements, everything complicates ...