Hansi Flick Outpaces Pep Guardiola to Shatter Barcelona Record in Lightning Speed
Barcelona rallied from an early deficit to secure a 3–1 triumph over Real Oviedo on Thursday evening.
This result allows Barcelona to remain close to Real Madrid, trailing by just two points after six matches in the La Liga campaign.
However, the triumph holds greater importance, particularly for Barça coach Hansi Flick. The success against Oviedo represented the German's 50th victory since arriving at the Catalan club last summer.
Flick required only 67 matches across all tournaments to achieve this remarkable feat, making him the second-quickest Barcelona manager to reach this milestone in the 21st century, trailing only current Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique.
Nevertheless, Flick accomplished this quicker than the most accomplished manager in Blaugrana history: Pep Guardiola. The current Manchester City manager required 71 matches to achieve 50 victories with Barcelona.
Throughout Flick's 67-game spell with the Catalans, his record stands at 50 victories, eight draws and nine defeats. Barcelona have also netted an outstanding 195 goals under the Flick regime, the highest total among any team in Europe's top five divisions since last season began.
It represents a remarkable accomplishment from the German, who becomes the sixth Barça coach this century to enter the 50-victory club.
Barcelona Coaches to Achieve 50 Victories in 21st Century
Flick joins Frank Rijkaard, Guardiola, Enrique, Ernesto Valverde and Xavi Hernández as the sole managers to claim 50 victories for Barcelona over the past 25 years.
Rank | Barcelona Manager | Games Until Win No. 50 |
|---|---|---|
1. | Luis Enrique | 60 |
2. | Hansi Flick | 67 |
3. | Pep Guardiola | 71 |
4. | Ernesto Valverde | 72 |
5. | Xavi Hernández | 77 |
6. | Frank Rijkaard | 83 |
Among all coaches on this list, only Enrique managed to achieve 50 victories within a single campaign. He accomplished this extraordinary milestone during his inaugural season with the Catalans in 2014–15, when the club secured their second treble in six years.
Besides Enrique, only Helenio Herrera guided Barcelona to 50 victories more rapidly than Flick when examining coaches from before the new millennium. Herrera needed 63 matches to reach that victory total back in the late 1950s.
Victories have been accumulating for Barcelona since Flick's arrival. These positive outcomes have already resulted in the club's first domestic treble, along with a historic four-match clean sweep of arch-rivals Real Madrid last season, an achievement accomplished only once previously in El Clásico history.
Coincidentally, Barça Femení coach Pere Romeu, who joined Barcelona simultaneously with Flick, achieved the 50-victory milestone with the women's squad last weekend in their 5–0 triumph over Sevilla.
Barcelona will anticipate that numerous goals, victories and trophies remain ahead under Flick's guidance. They now focus on pursuing victory No. 51 against Real Sociedad on Sunday evening.