Betis give Setién the boot
Despite knocking off both Barcelona and Real Madrid away from home in a rare Liga double, the Betis board has decided to send Quique Setién packing.
Real Betis have announced that Quique Setién will not continue as coach of the Andalusian side next season. The club made the announcement immediately after Setién had overseen a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabéu, completing a Liga double that few managers can boast: beating both Madrid and Barcelona away from home in a single campaign.
Those victories punctuated an otherwise up and down campaign for Betis, who finished 10th in LaLiga, nine points adrift of bitter rivals Sevilla and a European place.
Setién guided Betis into the Europa League last season with a sixth-placed showing and took the Verdiblancos to the round of 32, where they suffered an upset at the hands of Rennes in a 6-4 aggregate defeat.
Fans at the Villamarín had already turned on their coach due to erratic league form and the result against the Ligue 1 side turned Betis’ stadium into a cauldron of discontent that Setién had to endure for the second half of the campaign, chants of “Quique out!” ringing around the ground with increasing regaulrity.
Setién: "When I go out into the street many fans hug me"
Even a run to the Copa del Rey semifinals - Betis’ first appearance in the last four since they lifted the trophy in 2004-05 - did not quell the unrest and Setién’s tenure appeared untenable in recent weeks.
“You have to understand Sevilla from the point of view of the passion of the fans,” Setién said on Sunday. “I would be the first to admit I should have versed myself considerably more in that respect. You have to look at Betis’ history to put it into context. When I go out in the street many fans hug me and the other day club member number 400 and something, a 75-year-old, thanked me. That’s what will stay with me, not the chants and the frustration.”