Enrique "Quique" Setién Solar (; born 27 September 1958) is a Spanish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, currently

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

club

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club (), known in AFC competitions as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in . Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang Distr ...

. As a player, he was nicknamed ''El Maestro'', and was best known for his two spells with

Racing de Santander Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...

, starting and finishing his 19-year professional career at the club. Over 15 seasons in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, he played 374 matches and scored 58 goals. He also won three international

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Setién started a managerial career in 2001, going on to coach several teams including Racing. Starting in January 2020, he was in charge of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

for seven months, being dismissed following an 8–2 loss against Bayern Munich in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

Playing career

Club

Born in Santander, Setién made his

debut in 1977, with his hometown club

. During his first spell with the

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

ns, although he played regularly, he was not yet a regular starter, and he missed the entire 1982–83 season as well as being relegated twice. Afterwards, Setién represented

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

for three years. He enjoyed a good first two seasons, but appeared rarely in his last after some spats with elusive club chairman Jesús Gil. Setién then moved to Logroñés in 1988 where, after a slow start, he was essential in helping the Riojans retain their top-tier status. The 34-year-old returned to Racing in 1992, and scored a career-best 11 goals in the first year in his second spell as the side returned to the top flight. He played three more years with the latter, and retired in June 1996 at nearly 38 after featuring for Levante in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

play-offs, which also ended in promotion. In 2001, Setién was voted by Racing's fans as their best player of all time. He appeared in almost 600 official matches in nearly two decades of play, totalling 95 league goals.

International

Setién appeared three times for

and was selected for the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

squad, but did not leave the bench during the tournament in Mexico. His debut came on 20 November 1985 in a 0–0 friendly with

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

Coaching career

Early career

Setién began working as a manager on 5 October 2001, succeeding the dismissed Gustavo Benítez at a Racing side that had started poorly following relegation to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

. He took the team from 17th to promotion as runners-up to Atlético, but left at the end of the season due to pressure and handed the reins to his former teammate Manuel Preciado. For the 2003–04 campaign, Setién returned to the second division with

Polideportivo Ejido Poli Ejido 2012 Sociedad Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in El Ejido, Province of Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1969 and dissolved in 2012, it held home matches at '' Estadio Municipal Santo Domingo'' ...

. He was dismissed on 17 November, with the team in the relegation zone. In 2005, Setién was appointed assistant coach to the

Russia national beach soccer team The Russia national beach soccer team (, ''Sbornaya Rossii po plyazhnomu futbolu'') represents Russia in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the Russian Football Union, the governing body for football in Russia. The tea ...

. For three months during the following year, he was in charge of

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

. After that he moved to another team he played for, Logroñes in division three, being relieved of his duties midway through the 2007–08 campaign.

Lugo

In June 2009, Setién became

Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...

's coach. He led the side to promotion to the second tier in his

third year Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

, a second-ever for the

Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...

. In the following three years, they managed to stay afloat, ranking between positions 11th and 15th.

Las Palmas

On 19 October 2015, following the dismissal of Paco Herrera, Setién became the new manager of

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

in the top flight. He arrived with them in the relegation zone, and led them to 11th place in his first season. On 18 March 2017, Setién announced that he would leave the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

club at the end of the campaign due to disputes with the board.

Betis

On 26 May 2017, Setién was appointed manager of

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

on a three-year deal. He led the team to the sixth place in his first year, with the subsequent qualification to the group stage of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. Setién was linked with a move to

in January 2019, but it did not materialise. On 19 May, he announced that he would leave the

Estadio Benito Villamarín es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered s ...

Barcelona

Setién signed as head coach of Barcelona on 13 January 2020, replacing the dismissed

Ernesto Valverde Ernesto Valverde Tejedor (born 9 February 1964) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of La Liga club Athletic Bilbao. Over ten seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 264 games and 68 ...

on a contract lasting to June 2022. In his first match in charge, six days later, he managed a 1–0 home victory over

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. The team eventually finished the domestic league in second position, behind

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. On 14 August 2020, they lost 8–2 to

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

in the quarter-finals of the

, which was the first time in 74 years that the club had conceded eight goals in a game; it was also the first loss by a six-goal margin since 1951. He was officially dismissed three days later, subsequently confirming he would take legal action, as he felt the terms of his contract were not respected.

Villarreal

Setién returned to management on 25 October 2022, replacing

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

-bound

Unai Emery Unai Emery Etxegoien (born 3 November 1971) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa. He is widely regarded as o ...

at the helm of

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

. He led the side to fifth place, thus qualifying for the Europa League. On 5 September 2023, Setién was dismissed due to poor results.

Beijing Guoan

On 10 December 2024, Setién was appointed at

club

Personal life

Setién's son, Laro, is also a footballer and a midfielder. His father-in-law José Antonio Lozano played in the Spanish second tier in the early 1960s, and all three relatives represented Racing Santander. In addition to his native Spanish, he also speaks English and Italian. Setién is a keen

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player with a FIDE rating of 1965. He played matches against former

world champions A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...

and

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (, ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, ⁣and politician. He was the 12th World Chess Champion from 1975 ...

, the results of which were not made public. He mentioned the game as an influence on his football tactics, which prioritised possession and midfield domination. Before being Barcelona manager, Setién lived in , 9 km west of Santander, where there are a lot of cows; hence, he commented: "Yesterday I was walking past cows in my home town; today I was at Barcelona's training ground coaching the best players in the world, an enormous club". In April 2020, in an interview with

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

, he talked about winning La Liga and Champions League titles, when he said: "If it can be both, better. And of course I have dreamed of walking around Liencres with the cows while holding up the Champions League trophy and showing it to them."

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Atlético Madrid *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

runner-up: 1985–86

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Setien, Quique 1958 births Living people 20th-century Spanish sportsmen Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Santander, Spain Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Racing de Santander players Atlético Madrid footballers CD Logroñés footballers Levante UD footballers Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spain men's international footballers 1986 FIFA World Cup players Spanish beach soccer players Spanish football managers La Liga managers Segunda División managers Segunda División B managers Racing de Santander managers Polideportivo Ejido managers CD Logroñés managers CD Lugo managers UD Las Palmas managers Real Betis managers FC Barcelona managers Villarreal CF managers Chinese Super League managers Beijing Guoan F.C. managers Equatorial Guinea national football team managers Spanish expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Equatorial Guinea Expatriate football managers in China Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Equatorial Guinea Spanish expatriate sportspeople in China