Barcelona sack Setien after Bayern thrashing

Barcelona have sacked Quique Setien, their head coach, barely days after the humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-finals.

The Spaniard’s dismissal was announced after a meeting with Eric Abidal, the club’s technical director, on Monday.

Setien, who only joined Barcelona in January, was sacked after just 217 days in charge of the Catalan club.

The club had given the 61-year-old manager a two-and-half-year deal. His time was however characterized by poor performances which culminated in the UCL demolition.

The club said his sack is the first of “wider restructuring” expected at the club in the coming days, including hiring a new coach.

“The Board of Directors have agreed that Quique Setién is no longer the first team coach,” the club said in a statement.

“This is the first decision within a wider restructuring of the first team which will be agreed between the current technical secretary and the new coach, who will be announced in the coming days.

“Quique Setién came to Barça as coach on 13 January of this year. During his seven months in charge the Cantabrian coached the first team in 25 matches: 19 in the league, three in the Champions League and three in the Copa del Rey.

“The breakdown of his results was 16 wins, four draws and five defeats.”

Setien, a former Real Betis coach, fell short in cup competitions, exiting both the UCL and Copa del Rey at the quarter final stages. He led Barcelona to second place finish in the recently concluded Spanish La Liga season.