Setién's Cantabrian refuge where he healed Barça's wounds

Quique Setién

(Santander, 1958) turned 64 last month, an age at which most people are already thinking about retirement.

The Cantabrian coach was also half-retired after more than two years away from the bench and without much desire to return to them, as he himself has confessed, after an experience at Barça that was not as he had dreamed.

A stage that lasted just seven months and that ended with a 2-8 defeat against Bayern in that Champions League of confinement.

“It wasn't me there, I couldn't be.

The circumstances I found myself in were different from anything I had experienced before but it was an extraordinary experience from which I

», explained Setién this past Wednesday in his presentation as the new coach of Villarreal, the only club of all who has knocked on his door that has been able to get him out of his quiet retirement in Liencres, 3,500 inhabitants, near Santander where he lives.

Very close to there is Marina Sport, a quarry club from the neighboring town, Soto de la Marina, in whose youth the Cantabrian coach had been killing the bug on the benches until last week.

, a young 24-year-old coach with whom Quique Setién had been collaborating with since the summer of last year

, explains to this newspaper

.

«After having trained the cadet B of Racing, I went to Juvenil B of Marina Sport, in the National League.

Quique is a friend of the directors of the club and the field catches him near Liencres, where he lives.

Between the

and that he also knew me somewhat before, he offered to help us.

He knew that his teams have influenced me a lot, they have been very important in my idea of ​​watching football, so the normal thing is that there would be a good 'feeling' as it has been, "explains López, who highlights Setién's involvement .

«Although he was not training any team, Quique has many commitments but he came whenever he could.

He was in the vast majority of training sessions and in all the home games.

There he stood in front of the bench and then at the break we commented on what we had seen ».

Álex López, like most, was surprised when the events that ended Setién at Villarreal were triggered on Monday after

left for Aston Villa.

«On Monday at noon I spoke with Quique about the match we won against Compostela (1-2) because he had not traveled with us and I told him how he had gone and what we were going to do during the week.

He told me that he couldn't come to training

.

When I left training I began to watch the news, although at first I didn't give it much truth either because lately they related him to a thousand teams the next day it became official", explains Álex López, who, without expecting it, was left without his assistant, now already in Juvenil A del Marina, in the Honor Division, to which both made the leap this past summer.

«He came to teach us all, he has been comfortable here and has been happy.

I always joked with him that, selfishly, I wish he would not train again, to continue taking advantage of him, in a good way, but I am very excited that he has returned to a bench, "explains López.

Those who were his players until last Sunday, despite losing the opportunity to continue training with a coach like Setién, also showed

and through their captain,

.

"On behalf of all of us, we wish you good luck, the best for you and thank you very much for your time and for giving us your great advice."

In just a few days, Quique Setién has changed the Marina Sport youth team for Villarreal with whom he debuted this past Thursday with a draw against Hapoel Beer-Sheva, in the Conference League, and where he has the great challenge of taking the baton of Emery, the coach who won the first title in the history of the Castellón club.

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