Quique Setien’s former assistant at Barcelona has said that the 8-2 humbling at the hands of Bayern Munich was on account of years of failings at the club.
Barca advanced to the quarter-finals of last season's UEFA Champions League by beating Napoli 4-2 on aggregate, but a meeting with Bayern proved too much - and in devastating style.
The German side delivered a stunning performance, eventually running out 8-2 winners on the day.
There was no shame in losing to Bayern as they went on to lift the title thanks to a win over Paris Saint-German in the final, but the manner of the defeat left the Catalans in a state of shock.
Setien was sacked a few days later, and his second in command Eder Sarabia has opened up on the shock loss - claiming the result happened on account of years of mismanagement.
"In the Champions League, after playing a great return game against Napoli, Bayern were next,” Sarabia said in an interview with Marca.
“In that game it was evident, as everyone knows, that the outcome was a consequence of many years and many things that were not done well. But we are very calm and proud of the work we did.
“I do not have nightmares about Bayern because there were many things that were not in our control. You analyse it and it is undoubted that they were better, they had a great day although we also had our moments. I remember one from Luis Suarez, another when Busquets hit the post … the game could have changed.
“But that was a consequence of many things in the past, but we look forward. There are players like [Gerard] Pique who have come out and have explained things well. When you have not done things well for so long, these kinds of things happen.”
Barca are not faring well this season, and currently occupy eighth place in La Liga - 12 points adrift of leaders Atletico Madrid.
Despite their poor start to life under Ronald Koeman on the domestic front, Sarabia believes the defeat to Bayern was the club’s lowest point.
“Sometimes it is good to hit rock bottom to lift your head,” he said. "It was our turn. It is a shame what happened, but we do not have any grudges.”
