Video: Barcelona's Gerard Pique calls for changes after 8-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich

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Veteran central defender Gerard Pique admits he would be the first to leave Barcelona if it is decided new blood is needed at the beleaguered Spanish side.
Veteran central defender Gerard Pique admits he would be the first to leave Barcelona if it is decided new blood is needed at the beleaguered Spanish side.

Lisbon, Portugal - Coach Quique Setien set for the axe after humiliating defeat to rampant Germans in Champions League quarter-finals.

By Reuters

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Published: Sat 15 Aug 2020, 4:15 AM

Last updated: Sat 15 Aug 2020, 3:19 PM

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said radical changes were needed from top to bottom after his side were annihilated 8-2 by Bayern Munich on Friday to exit the Champions League in one of the Catalan side's darkest ever nights.
"We feel devastated, although shame is the real word I'm looking for. We cannot afford to compete like this because it's not the first, the second or the third time that something like this has happened," a tearful Pique told reporters after the quarter-final drubbing, their worst ever result in Europe.

"This is very painful but I hope it serves some purpose."
Pique, one of the surviving members of the team who won the Champions League in 2009 under Pep Guardiola to begin a golden era for the Catalans, said he was ready to leave the club in order to ensure they improve.
He also appeared to blame the Barca hierarchy, which includes president Josep Maria Bartomeu, for the team's predicament as he called for changes at the very top.
"We all need to reflect deeply, the club needs lots of changes, I'm not talking about the coach, players - I don't want to point the finger at anyone but the club needs changes on a structural level," he said.
"If new blood needs to come for the club to change course then I'm not untouchable and I'll be the first to leave if needs be, because it seems as if we've hit rock bottom.
"We all have to reflect about what is the best thing for the club and for Barca."
Barca coach Quique Setien is unlikely to survive overseeing such a debacle, although he did not say whether or not he saw himself continuing in charge of the team.
Leading Italian football journalist, Fabrizio Romano, said Barcelona had already decided to sack Setien. Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino, who is currently out of work, is reportedly among the favourites for the Barca hot seat.
"I'm not going to go into all that as I've only been here for six months but seeing as this is Pique, surely some of what he said is true," said the embattled Setien.
"Right now we feel enormous frustration and all we can do is make conclusions and think about the future. Barca is a club that is so great that this will cause us a lot of damage and obviously some things will have to change.
"The truth is this is a tremendously painful defeat. Right now it's too soon to say whether I will continue or not. This defeat has hurt me a lot.
"It's such an overwhelming defeat and I'm not just worried about my future, I'm thinking about what an awful defeat this is for the club and for the fans."
Predecessor Ernesto Valverde was sacked in January partly for his role in Barca's two previous exits from the Champions League and Setien admitted his stock will have fallen after presiding over Barca's heaviest ever defeat in Europe.
"I know what a defeat of this calibre means but we have to analyse what has happened today from a wider perspective," Setien added.
"I know that the credibility of a coach decreases when you have a defeat like this. We were over-powered by a very, very good team. Save for the first few minutes, they completely overwhelmed us."
Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu did not reveal what consequences such a seismic defeat would have on the squad and coaching staff, but he implied that the scale of the result would ensure some were moved on quicker than first thought.
"We were not at the level we want to be today. It was a disaster and soon we will take some decisions," he said.
"We had been thinking about some of them already and we will inform the affected people in the coming days. Some of those decisions had already been made, others will be made in the next few days.
"But right now is a time to reflect, not to make decisions in the heat of the moment. Above all, we want to apologise to all Barcelona fans for this heavy result."
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich players will let their stunning 8-2 Champions League quarter-final victory sink in for a day but if they are to win the title they still need to work hard, coach Hansi Flick warned.
Flick, who was assistant coach of Germany in their historic 7-1 demolition of hosts Brazil en route to the World Cup title in 2014, said his players now needed to stay grounded ahead of a semi-final against either Manchester City or Olympique Lyonnais.
"You know that I do not look back because only the here and now matters," Flick told reporters when asked about comparisons to Germany's 2014 win.
"Yes, we played an outstanding game and we can be happy but we all know we still have hard work to do if we are to stand in the end where we want to stand," he added.
Bayern have won the domestic league and Cup double and are looking to repeat their 2013 treble winning season.
"We know how quickly it can happen in football. We must recharge from tomorrow for the semi-finals," Flick said.
On Friday the Bavarians had already scored four times in the first half against the Spanish former European champions, outclassing them with dizzying pace and quick breaks that left the Barca defence standing.
"It is a win and we wanted to reach semi-finals. OK, it is impressive, we set a small marker but the experienced players know that the next game awaits and we will need the same performance. Let it sink in, analyse and then prepare for the semi-final," Flick said.


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