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Despite their recent struggles, Barcelona remain one of the most successful clubs in the history of the game. Powered by the genius of Lionel Messi, the Blaugrana has won 35 titles in the 21st century, which is the second-highest tally across Europe's top five leagues, behind only Bayern Munich in Germany.
Camp Nou has been home to some of the world's greatest players over the last two decades, and indeed a few of the most brilliant minds in the sport.
From Johan Cryuff to Sir Bobby Robson - New Barcelona boss Xavi has big shoes to fill
Club legend Xavi Hernandez is the latest in a long line of football legends to grace the Camp Nou dugout. Barcelona have traditionally been managed by elite coaches who revolutionised the sport with their ideas and contributions. The likes of Johan Cryuff, Louis van Gaal and Pep Guardiola instantly spring to mind.
While recent times have been anything but smooth sailing for the club and its managers, here are five of Blaugrana's greatest head coaches of the 21st century.
#5 Tito Vilanova
The late Tito Vilanova managed Blaugrana for just one season, in 2012-13, before resigning due to a relapse of glandular cancer. He, unfortunately, passed away in April 2014, less than a year after departing Camp Nou.
Barcelona have enjoyed continuity in terms of their coaches for most of the 21st century, apart from recent seasons and the turn of the millennium. Therefore, Vilanova makes our list, despite coaching the team for just a single season. He is one of five managers to have won a La Liga title with the club this century.
Vilanova led the Blaugrana to the 2012-13 league title and the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they were eliminated by eventual winners Bayern Munich. His tenure lasted 44 games, winning 33. In this period, the Blaugrana scored 116 goals and suffered just five defeats.
#4 Ernesto Valverde
Ernesto Valverde managed Barcelona for nearly two and a half years, between 2017 and 2020, after succeeding Luis Enrique. After overachieving with a plucky Athletic Bilbao side, expectations were high when he arrived at Camp Nou.
Unfortunately, Valverde's tenure with the Blaugrana will always be remembered for their shocking collapse in successive Champions League campaigns.
Blaugrana were eliminated by AS Roma and Liverpool in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively. On both occasions, the Spanish giants suffered meltdowns in the second leg despite holding comfortable advantage from the first fixture.
Nonetheless, Valverde delivered in the league, leading the club to successive La Liga titles. In fact, the team was on course to win a third straight league crown when he was fired in January 2020. Barcelona went on to blow their advantage and surrendered the title to Atletico Madrid in dramatic fashion on the final matchday of the season.
Valverde was also rather harshly criticised for his defensive tactics and for not setting his teams up to play 'the Barcelona way'. However, he remains the most recent successful Blaugrana manager, and the club has been on a downward spiral since his sacking.
He won a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup in addition to the two league titles, while the club won 97 of his 145 games as head coach.
#3 Frank Rijkaard
Dutch legend Frank Rijkaard will always be remembered by Barcelona fans as the manager who gave Lionel Messi his first-team debut at the club. The club also signed Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho in Rijkaard's debut season as club manager in 2003.
Despite a difficult start to life at Camp Nou, Rijkaard would go on to establish himself as a Blaugrana legend. By leading them to the 2004-05 La Liga title, he ended the club's trophy drought stretching back to 1999.
He also became the first Barcelona manager to win twice at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid. That was something even Cryuff and Luis Aragones had failed to achieve.
The Blaugrana won two league titles and two Spanish Super Cups under the Dutchman, along with the 2005-06 Champions League title.
He departed Camp Nou in 2008 after a five-year spell, making him the longest-tenured Blaugrana manager of the 21st century so far. The club won 159 of his 272 games as head coach.
#2 Luis Enrique
Current Spanish national team manager Luis Enrique had an exceptionally successful three-year tenure with the Blaugrana between 2014 and 2017.
He memorably led Barcelona to a continental treble in his debut season as manager, with the club winning La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey. He followed that up with a domestic double (league and cup) in his second season in charge.
Barcelona won 138 of their 181 games under Enrique, and also clinched a Spanish Super Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup in that period.
He chose to walk away after the expiration of his contract in 2017. With nine trophies in three years and an astonishing win percentage of 76.2, Enrique is statistically one of the greatest managers in Blaugrana history.
#1 Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has a convincing case for the greatest manager in Barcelona history, never mind the 21st century. Under the Spanish genius, the 2008-12 Blaugrana side became arguably the most feared club team football has ever seen. Even the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho had no answer to Guardiola, Messi and Barcelona's 'tiki-taka'.
Already a club legend from his playing days, where he captained the team, Guardiola was appointed the Blaugrana manager in May 2008. He led the team to a historic continental treble in his debut season, becoming the youngest manager to win the Champions League in the process.
The following season, he added the UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, Spanish Super Cup and another La Liga crown to his tally. Guardiola wasn't done, and led Barcelona to a third successive league title in his third year at the club, and a second Champions League crown, and retained the Spanish Super Cup.
The Blaugrana failed to win La Liga or the Champions League in Guardiola's final season in 2011-12. However, they added a third UEFA Super Cup, a third Spanish Super Cup, a second Copa del Rey and another Club World Cup to their burgeoning trophy cabinet.
Guardiola won an unbelievable 14 trophies in his four-year spell with Barcelona. The team won 179 of their 247 games under the Spaniard, giving him a win percentage of just over 72.
