Barcelona coach says ‘too soon’ to discuss future after horror defeat

Barcelona’s Gerard Pique reacts after the the Champions League quarterfinal soccer match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich in Lisbon, Portugal, Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. Bayern won the match 8-2. (Rafael Marchante/Pool via AP)

Barcelona’s embattled coach Quique Setien offered no indication that he would resign in the immediate aftermath of Friday’s 8-2 Champions League humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich, as club president Josep Maria Bartomeu promised to “take decisions” in the coming days.

“It’s too soon to think about whether or not I will continue,” Setien said. “It doesn’t depend on me. There needs to be a wider reflection, taking into account the situation and the importance of this defeat which is so painful.”

Defender Gerard Pique called for sweeping changes at the Camp Nou in the wake of the defeat, the worst in Barcelona’s distinguished European history.

Setien was already under huge pressure, despite only being appointed as the successor to Ernesto Valverde in January, with Barcelona having relinquished the Spanish title on his watch, finishing second to Real Madrid in La Liga.

They were hoping to make up for a disappointing domestic campaign in the ‘Final Eight’ in Lisbon but were instead utterly outclassed by Bayern at the Estadio da Luz.

Speaking to Spanish television station Movistar Plus, Bartomeu said: “Now is not the time for decisions, it is the time to apologize to the members, the Barcelona fans, because it was not a good day for them.”

“We are hurting, but once we get to next week we will start making decisions.”

Setien called the defeat “tremendously painful” and hinted that he knew what was coming.

“I am aware of what such a defeat means. I think what happens today needs to be analyzed with a bit more perspective,” he said.

“The credibility of a coach is diminished when this happens, clearly. That is obvious, but that does not bother me right now.”