Hansi Flick surpasses legendary Barcelona managers with incredible record | OneFootball

Hansi Flick has already built an impressive record at Barcelona, but the latest milestone puts the German among some of the most successful managers in the club’s history.

Barcelona have started the new La Liga campaign at the top of the table, giving Flick four matchdays at the summit this season. 

More importantly, that has taken his overall tally to 61 matchdays spent in first place since taking charge, which is a remarkable figure considering how he has reached it.

Flick overtakes Venables in Barcelona history

Notably, Flick has finished a matchday top of La Liga on 61 occasions across the 81 matchdays he has managed, moving him beyond Terry Venables, who spent 60 matchdays at the summit during his three seasons in charge of Barcelona. 

Flick has therefore broken into the club’s all-time top five for league leadership, despite having only completed two full seasons and the opening part of a third.

Rinus Michels is now directly ahead of him with 63 matchdays at the top, making the Dutchman’s mark the next obvious target.

Guardiola still sets the benchmark

The names above Flick show just how significant his numbers are.

Ernesto Valverde managed Barcelona for three seasons and led the league for 80 matchdays, while Frank Rijkaard reached 85 across five campaigns. 

Pep Guardiola remains first with 87 matchdays at the summit during his four seasons in charge.

The gap to Guardiola is still substantial, but Flick’s pace is what makes the comparison particularly striking. He has accumulated his tally far quicker than the managers around him.

Flick has broken into a solid managerial record at Barcelona. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Flick has also already moved beyond several legendary Barcelona coaches. 

Johan Cruyff reached 59 matchdays across eight seasons, Louis van Gaal managed 58 across four campaigns and Luis Enrique finished top for 55 matchdays during his three seasons.

A record built at extraordinary speed

The raw numbers tell only part of the story. What stands out is how little time Flick has needed to establish himself among Barcelona’s most prolific league leaders.

As such, 61 matchdays at the summit out of 81 managed means Barcelona have spent roughly three-quarters of Flick’s league tenure in first place at the end of a matchday.

Now, with Rinus Michels only two matchdays ahead, Flick could soon move into fourth place and beyond that, the climb becomes steeper.