Ranking every Barcelona boss since Pep Guardiola by PPG: Xavi 6th…
Pep Guardiola is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time – so replacing him was always going to be difficult for Barcelona.
Club legend Xavi Hernandez is their sixth permanent manager since Guardiola’s departure a decade ago and it has certainly been a mixed bag for the Spanish giants.
“My concept is very similar,” Xavi told ManCity.com back in 2020.
“Guardiola also wants to be dominant, he wants to have the ball, strong possession, lots of attacking movements… It’s ultimately about being proactive within the game. It’s about skilfully attacking the opponent in a certain way. In this sense it is not my idea.”
We’ve ranked those seven managers by their points-per-game rate to see who comes out on top.
7. Ronald Koeman
Games: 67
Won: 39
Drawn: 12
Lost: 16
Goals for (per game): 138 (2.05)
Goals against (per game): 75 (1.11)
Clean sheets: 23
Points per game: 1.92
Win rate: 58.2%
Loss rate: 23.9%
Fans mobbed Ronald Koeman's car after Barcelona's defeat in El Clasico 😬
(via @1899Gallego)pic.twitter.com/tb7EywWDM0
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 24, 2021
6. Xavi Hernandez
Games: 59
Won: 35
Drawn: 12
Lost: 12
Goals for (per game): 115 (1.95)
Goals against (per game): 62 (1.05)
Clean sheets: 22
Points per game: 1.98
Win rate: 59.3%
Loss rate: 20.3%
5. Quique Setien
Games: 25
Won: 16
Drawn: 4
Lost: 5
Goals for (per game): 50 (2)
Goals against (per game): 27 (1.08)
Clean sheets: 11
Points per game: 2.08
Win rate: 64%
Loss rate: 20%
=4. Ernesto Valverde
Games: 145
Won: 97
Drawn: 32
Lost: 16
Goals for (per game): 339 (2.33)
Goals against (per game): 128 (0.88)
Clean sheets: 65
Points per game: 2.22
Win rate: 66.9%
Loss rate: 11%
Pep Guardiola on Ernesto Valverde facing the sack
🗣"Barcelona is a special place because winning the league is not enough, I feel sorry for him. He doesn't deserve that." pic.twitter.com/gARNd1fycO
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 13, 2020
=4. Gerardo Martino
Games: 59
Won: 40
Drawn: 11
Lost: 8
Goals for (per game): 148 (2.5)
Goals against (per game): 48 (0.81)
Clean sheets: 24
Points per game: 2.22
Win rate: 67.8%
Loss rate: 13.6%
2. Tito Vilanova
Games: 44
Won: 33
Drawn: 6
Lost: 5
Goals for (per game): 116 (2.63)
Goals against (per game): 51 (1.15)
Clean sheets: 14
Points per game: 2.38
Win rate: 75%
Loss rate: 11.4%
READ: Where are they now? Pep Guardiola’s promotion-winning Barcelona B team
1. Luis Enrique
Games: 181
Won: 138
Drawn: 22
Lost: 21
Goals for (per game): 519 (2.86)
Goals against (per game): 147 (0.81)
Clean sheets: 82
Points per game: 2.4
Win rate: 76.2%
Loss rate: 11.6%
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