Soccer is, among many other things, a game of concave or convex mirrors, depending on which view suits you and when you decide. After Real Madrid's defeat with Villarreal, it is not difficult to think about the different perspective of Barcelona fans with respect to Quique Setién, for whom he did not show the slightest appreciation in the tumultuous period that followed the dismissal of Ernesto Valverde in January 2020. The result alleviates the concerns of Barça and Xavi on the eve of their meeting with Atlético de Madrid, without Lewandowski on the scene and the staff with the fly after the extravagant match with Intercity in the Cup.
Setién leaves no one indifferent. He was not born for diplomacy, nor is he interested in tuning bagpipes. A great player in his day, he arrived late as a coach in the First Division, without shrinking from an opportunity that comes soon to most coaches. He radically defends an ideology that has good sales when the results respond and generates a multitude of adversaries in stormy times. They neither scare him nor demobilize him. He likes the melee, although he knows full well the consequences. He knows very well that the coach is the weakest link in the chain when the results do not hold up.
Setién fulfilled the great dream of his life when he was given the opportunity to lead Barça. It was also the nightmare that torments him. His name will be associated with a dark period for Barça. His presence coincided with the outbreak of Barçagate, the start of the pandemic, the revolt in the board of directors, the collapse of the team in the accelerated restart of the competition and, more than any other disaster, the brutal 8-2 against Bayern, which acted as a cluster grenade at the club.
In that Barça, where everything and everyone was discussed, including Messi, there was no possibility of redemption for Setién. The wave devastated the club and the consequences are far from being repaired. Setién was sent to the Siberia of marginality, but football is playful on and off the field. Emery left Villarreal without warning and Setién received an irresistible offer: he not only returned, he did so at an ambitious club and in a team with a wide portfolio of great players.
With the victory over Real Madrid, Setién crossed a transcendental divide yesterday. In the first games in charge of Villarreal, predicting his dismissal became one of the favorite sports of journalism. He was not supported by his career at Barça, a shocking character and the weakness that the team showed. The prejudices derived from his age (64 years) did not benefit him either. A perception weighed on Setién that invited a discouraging prejudice, from which he has now freed himself.
A good run of victories, some of them very suffered, preceded the convincing victory against Real Madrid. Villarreal surpassed him in all aspects of the game: more dynamic, attentive, deep and a finisher. He played wonderfully and offered all the data to think about a new and happy stretch for his coach, after a game that seriously questioned Madrid's defensive performance. People like Mendy, Rüdiger and Alaba begin to transmit a collapse out of sympathy. Errors are reported with unusual frequency.
Madrid's skid puts Barça in a pleasant situation. In the worst case, except for a biblical destruction, it will leave you at the same level. At best, it will renew expectations that seemed to vanish. All this after a date that vindicates Quique Setién, destined to star in an interesting edition of the deforming game of the mirror. From concave to convex in one day.
