Flick chasing Guardiola’s ‘Clasico’ record

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is on course to match Pep Guardiola’s record of five wins from his first five ‘Clasicos’.

In only his first year in Catalonia, Hansi Flick is already starting to rewrite the pages in Barcelona’s history books. The German international has already conquered two titles at the helm of the Blaugrana this term, and is now on course to make it three with a La Liga title also within his grasp.

Although quadruple glory slipped away from him after a painful defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League semi-finals, the 60-year-old can boast of being the only Barcelona manager to have won his first three ‘Clasicos’ since Pep Guardiola.

Guardiola claimed a 2-0 home win in his first showdown against the Merengues in 2008/9, followed by a famous 2-6 demolition in the return fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu and a 1-0 win at the Camp Nou at the start of the following season.

Meanwhile, the former Bayern Munich boss kickstarted his ‘Clasico’ streak with a 0-4 thumping of Los Blancos in October, followed by two cup final wins – the Spanish Super Cup in January (2-5) and the Copa del Rey in April (3-2).

The challenge now for Flick is to match Guardiola’s tally of five. The Catalan registered his fourth consecutive win in April 2010 (0-2) before grabbing the record-breaking fifth against Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid in November 2010 (5-0).

Having won already three times against Real Madrid this season, Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is on course to match Pep Guardiola’s record of five wins from his first five ‘Clasicos’.

Cristiano Ronaldo broke the curse for Madrid at the sixth time of asking, rescuing a 1-1 league draw with a late goal in April 2011. And on the seventh occasion came the current Man City coach’s first ‘Clasico’ defeat: a 0-1 loss in the Copa del Rey final, sealed again by the Portuguese forward.

With his fourth meeting with Real Madrid coming up on Sunday, Flick not only has the chance to put the Liga battle to bed – Barca are leading by four points with four games to go – but he can also look to build on his triumphant run.

Should he succeed in the upcoming showdown against Carlo Ancelotti’s side, Flick would have the opportunity to catch up with the most successful manager in the history of Barcelona in next season’s first ‘Clasico’ showdown.