Sport
QUIQUE SETIEN IS THE PERFECT LONG-TERM MAN TO SORT OUT VALENCIA
Football is a results business, everyone knows that. If you fail to hit the targets expected of you, then expect to face the consequences. At Valencia, it is a little more complicated than that.
Valencia Managerial Merry-go-round
Three coaches walked out the exit door in 2016 alone, with Gary Neville, Pako Ayestaran and Cesare Prandelli taking their leave for various reasons. While the former two struggled to get the results expected of them, Prandelli resigned after winning just one of his first eight LaLiga matches following a meeting in Singapore with club owner Peter Lim.
Mestalla is a demanding place. As recently as this week showed just that. After Diego Alves made a first-minute mistake for Los Che against Real Sociedad, which cost them the opening goal, the Brazilian goalkeeper found himself whistled by some of the home crowd whenever he had possession of the ball. Last month, Joao Cancelo shushed his own fans as a goal celebration.
Their current boss is Voro, an interim coach who has been appointed on numerous occasions to steady the ship between the consistent flow of new coaches and fresh faces that Valencia have had in their managerial hotseat. Prandelli was the club’s ninth coach in the last five years, but Voro has remained a constant, part of the club’s furniture throughout troubled times.
Setien’s Style of Management
Quique Setien is the man touted to walk into the high-pressure environment at Mestalla, with the change of scenery bringing with it a severely different atmosphere. At Las Palmas, where he currently plies his trade, there is a relaxed and liberal feel to the club and the style of play. At times, they might be considered better candidates to become a beach football team, than a top-flight outfit.
In Gran Canaria, Setien has stuck to his guns through thick and thin. If his style of play works well one week and fails the next, there is no immediate knee-jerk reaction. He has faith in his players, he has faith in what he is asking them to do, and that is final. It is his philosophy, something that Los Che have lacked in recent seasons.
In his playing days, the now 58-year-old focused on the technical side of his own game, and this has carried over into his managerial preferences. His Las Palmas side always play out from the back and belief in maintain the bulk of possession, even if it sees them make costly mistakes.
“What I ask of the players is that they play with confidence throughout the match. Our playing style has worked well for us quite frankly and we are not going to change that,” Setien explained in a pre-match press conference before his side’s recent clash against Alaves.
“I have always said I would keep a balanced playing style both when winning and losing and keep doing things the same way.”
Perfect Match?
In March, it was announced that despite Setien doing a very good job with Las Palmas this season, the club and their coach would not be coming to an agreement on a contract extension. This leaves him to go free at the end of the campaign, ready to walk into a new challenge.
Valencia have been the Jekyll and Hyde team of LaLiga this season. One moment, they show their immense potential and the attacking quality that they have it in the side. The next, they look shaky, error-prone and incredibly mentally fragile.
Some consistency and a set ideology might help to make things a little less erratic. Quique Setien would bring his own ideas and would set down a benchmark. Certain things would be expected of the individual and the collective, and Valencia are crying out to look like something other than a team that contains plenty of unrealised potential.
A strong coach who is prepared to stick to what he believes to be the right way of playing the game is exactly what Valencia require. Quique Setien’s attitude would help to shelter his players from the same pressure that they will have felt at points of this season, and in turn help to liberate the squad’s younger players and allow them to express themselves with confidence. Rather than worrying about the reaction of the fans, the blame would instead fall on Setien’s decisions.
Fantastic Potential
Valencia have been underachieving despite having one of LaLiga’s largest budgets, with Quique Setien not too familiar with having any money to spend during his time in Gran Canaria. If he is allowed to invest in a few players that he trust, who know his methods, Los Che should once again become an interesting proposition to watch with regularity.
There will be teething problems, struggles to adapt at times and individual mistakes, especially if Setien opts to retain the same possession-heavy style at Mestalla, and criticism will readily appear from both the fanbase and the local media.
If the 58-year-old wants a tough task, however, taking the young and impressionable likes of Santi Mina, Carlos Soler, Toni Lato and Joao Cancelo under his wing and asking them to enjoy their football could turn Valencia into one of the more exciting projects in the division next season.
