4 most successful Barcelona managers of all time

Guardiola guided the club to its first ever treble
Guardiola guided the club to its first ever treble

FC Barcelona are one of the most iconic clubs in the world, with their blue, red and maroon stripes instantly recognizable anywhere in the world.

With over 90 trophies won, the Blaugrana are the most successful side in European football history and have blessed us with some of the most legendary players throughout the history of the game, while the club stadium Camp Nou is one of the biggest and most intimidating stadiums in the world.

In La Masia, Barcelona has arguably the best football academy in the world and the school has helped produce legendary players who have helped shape the history of the beautiful game.

Over the last decade, Barcelona have dominated the footballing landscape and have arguably been the best club in that timeframe, as they have conquered all before them led by the alien in human form Lionel Messi.

Some legendary managers have had the privelege of coaching Barcelona and while some of them had disastrous spells, others stamped their names in the annals of the club. In this piece, we take a look at the four most successful managers of all time at Barcelona in terms of trophies won.

#4 Ferdinand Daucik 1950-1954 (8 trophies)

The late Slovak was a former player who managed numerous clubs in La Liga, but achieved his best spell while he was in charge of Barcelona.

He owes his appointment as Barcelona coach to his brother-in-law Ladislao Kubala who is a Barcelona legend and the club's former record goalscorer before none other than Lionel Messi.

Kubala was spotted while playing for Hungaria (an amateur team made up of refugees and coached by Daucik), by the chief scout of Barcelona and as part of the deal to take him to Barca, it was agreed that Daucik would take the reins at the club.

It was to prove to be a masterstroke, as Daucik guided the club to one of its most successful periods, helping it win consecutive La Liga titles as well as the Copa Generalismo (now Copa del Rey) in 1952 and 1953.

The team comprised of great players such as Kubala, Nicolai Simatoc, Juan Zambudio Valesco, Antoni Ramallets and Joan Segarra.

He left Barcelona at the expiration of his contract in 1954 having clashed with several players, but departed the club with eight trophies in the bag - 2 La Liga, 3 Copa del Rey, 2 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Latin Cup.

Upon his departure from Nou Camp, he went on to manage numerous other La Liga teams including Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis and Athletic Bilbao (winning another double with the latter in 1956) as well as other clubs on the continent such as Porto.

#3 Luis Enrique 2014 - 2017 (9 trophies won)

FC Barcelona vs Deportivo Alaves - Copa Del Rey Final
FC Barcelona vs Deportivo Alaves - Copa Del Rey Final

Appointed in the summer of 2014 following the underperformance under Gerardo Martino the season before, Luis Enrique did not get off to a good start and reportedly had a falling out with Lionel Messi before things took a turn for the better at the turn of 2015.

After settling his differences with Messi, a tactical change saw the Argentine deployed on the right to enable Suarez to play through the middle (which got the best out of the Uruguayan) and the club embarked on an impressive run. He recorded the impressive feat of winning 42 of his first 50 matches in charge (which is the best return of any manager after 50 games).

His first season in charge saw Barcelona win the treble for the second time in their history, while they also retained La Liga and Copa del Rey trophies the following season.

He left the club upon expiration of his contract in 2017, which saw him win a total of nine trophies. He is currently the manager of the Spanish national team.

#2 Johan Cruyff 1988 - 1996 (11 Trophies)

Johan Cruyff of Barcelona
Johan Cruyff of Barcelona

The late great Dutchman had one of the most distinguished playing careers in history and is widely considered by many to be the greatest of all time, following his playing exploits with Barcelona, Ajax and the Netherlands.

Upon his retirement, Cruyff went into coaching and helped reform Ajax, before taking it a step further by totally revamping Barcelona.

Cruyff is arguably the most important man in Barcelona's history, as no one can match the impact he had on the club across both his playing career and managerial spell in charge.

Upon his appointment in 1988, the icon set about building a football academy at the club which is similar to what is obtainable at Ajax (another very excellent training facility in its own right) and thus La Masia was born.

Under his watch, La Masia progressed into the finest football academy in first Spain and then the world, some of whose products progressed to the first team, where they alongside some global superstars formed what was known as the Dream Team.

The Dream Team would go on to win Barcelona's first ever European Cup in 1992, as well as winning La Liga on four consecutive occasions.

Johan Cruyff departed the club in 1996 having fallen out with the club president, but till this day is highly revered, as his impact is still being felt at the club. Without him, players like Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique, Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Busquets, Carles Puyol would never have flourished.

#1 Pep Guardiola 2008 - 2012 (14 trophies)

Pep Guardiola is Barca's most successful manager
Pep Guardiola is Barca's most successful manager

In many people's eyes, the greatest manager of all time. Pep Guardiola was a former Barcelona player and captained the side for many years before departing the club.

He got his coaching licenses upon his retirement, but many scoffed at his appointment as Barcelona coach in 2008, as he had no senior coaching experience, with his only managerial stint coming as coach of Barcelona B whom he managed for just one season.

He went about silencing his doubters in the best possible way, guiding Barcelona to its first ever treble in 2009 and taking it a step further by becoming the first club to win all six trophies available in a calendar year.

A steep student of Cruyff, Guardiola studied the Dutchman's methods and instilled a possession-based style of play on his team which is fondly called tiki-taka which was so successful for so long that opposing teams found it hard to come up with a solution. Till date, his Barca team is widely regarded as one of the best club sides in football history.

He helped bring out the best in Lionel Messi, having identified him as a special talent at a young age and making the decision to build the team around him which reaped immense benefits.

Pep departed Barcelona in 2012 having won a mindboggling 14 trophies from a possible 18 in four years and remains the most successful coach in Barcelona's history.

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Edited by Shambhu Ajith