With Barça aiming for the runners-up spot that secures their spot in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia, Xavi Hernández will mark his 100th LaLiga match as Barça coach in Almería. He started his journey two and a half years ago, back in November 2021, when he faced Espanyol in a derby at the Camp Nou and emerged victorious (1-0). This match took place on matchday 13 of the 2021-2022 league season. In the 99 matches he has coached so far, the Egarense coach has achieved 68 wins and 16 draws, boasting an impressive 84% of league matches without a loss. The team has scored 191 goals and conceded 86.
Xavi took over from Ronald Koeman and interim Sergi Barjuán, following the departure of Leo Messi. At that time, Barça was struggling in 9th place in the standings. Over the course of 26 matchdays, with notable victories against Real Madrid (0-4), Atlético (4-2), and Valencia (1-4), Xavi managed to guide the team to the runners-up position. It was a challenging year, and the sports management had to make significant investments in January to strengthen the squad, bringing in players like Ferran Torres and Aubameyang. The final tally included 17 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses.
The dynamics shifted in the LaLiga 2022-2023 season. Xavi secured the title before the completion of all 38 matchdays, clinching it on matchday 34 in Cornellà, notably against Espanyol. With a solid defense (conceding only 20 goals), Barça outperformed their opponents. They won 28 matches and drew 4. No one could have predicted the stark contrast in the 2023-2024 League after 35 games played. With the title already claimed by Madrid, Barça is now vying for the second spot after winning 23 games and drawing 7. The most disappointing aspect is that 4 of their 5 defeats came at the hands of the champion and Girona.
Pep Guardiola is the coach with the best stats in Barcelona history. He had 79 wins, 14 draws, and 7 losses, putting him ahead of Johan Cruyff, who was in second place with 64 wins, 20 draws, and 16 losses at the time. Luis Enrique has since moved into second place with 75 wins and 14 draws. Xavi is currently in third place.
This content has been translated and adapted from the Spanish version of the digital newspaper