Villarreal quickly name Setien as new head coach

Madrid, Oct 26 (IANS) La Liga club Villarreal have announced Quique Setien as the club's new head coach to replace Unai Emery, with the 64-year-old signing on until June 2024.

Villarreal have moved quickly to secure the services of the former Real Betis and FC Barcelona boss after Emery's move to Aston Villa on Monday.

According to the Spanish press, Villarreal got in contact with Setien, who has not worked since being sacked by Barca in the summer of 2020, after Emery informed them of his departure, reports Xinhua.

Setien has also coached at Las Palmas and Lugo, where he earned a reputation for playing flowing attacking football.

His work at Betis convinced Barca to sign him after sacking Ernesto Valverde in January 2020 when they were top of the table. But Setien's time at the Camp Nou was remembered for a painful period in which they lost the La Liga title to Real Madrid and suffered an 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Setien will take his first training session on Wednesday and his first game in charge is against Happoel Beer-Sheva in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, before a La Liga tie against Athletic Bilbao, who are coached by Valverde.