Hansi Flick's party, to the rhythm of Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique

BarcelonaThe fourth title of the Hansi Flick era is here. Barça has beaten Real Madrid (3-2) and continues to dominate the national scene under the guidance of the German coachHe has equaled Luis Enrique's record after winning four of the first five titles he has competed for on the Catalan bench. Joan Garcia, Marc Bernal, Marcus Rashford, and Rooney Bardghji have all won their first titles with Barça, while Hansi Flick remains Real Madrid's nemesis. Since taking over at Barça, he has won five of the six Clásicos he has managed, three of them in finals. Flick has never lost a final; the German coach has won all eight finals he has managed.

A year ago, Barça arrived in Saudi Arabia with the feeling that it would be an opportunity to reverse their poor run of form and face the second half of the season with confidence. Hansi Flick's team was in third place, three points behind Atlético Madrid, against whom they had lost at Montjuïc (1-2) a few weeks earlier. The Blaugrana rallied and lifted the first trophy of the season in a dominant performance against Real Madrid (2-5). That victory boosted the team and provided the energy to ultimately achieve a domestic treble. After the Spanish Super Cup, Barça went 21 matches unbeaten.

No defeat since the fateful thrashing at Stamford Bridge

Now, the feeling is different. The title should serve to maintain the confidence of a team that hasn't lost since November 25th at Stamford Bridge (3-0). That's ten consecutive victories and five clean sheets. These numbers place Hansi Flick alongside two Barça legends: Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique. The German has 66 wins in 88 matches as Barça manager. The Santpedor native achieved 62 in the same period, and the Asturian managed 69.

The German is proving that second seasons can indeed be good. Barça leads the league with four more points than Real Madrid, has won the first title of the season and continues with intact options both in the Champions League –the team is fifteenth two points away from eighth– and in the Copa del Rey –this Thursday they visit Racing de Santander in the round of 16.

In his second year with Bayern Munich, Flick won the Bundesliga by thirteen points over the second-placed team, the Club World Cup, and both the German and UEFA Super Cups. The only disappointment was in the German Cup, where they were eliminated in the second round by second-division side Holstein Kiel on penalties. In the Champions League, they were knocked out in the quarterfinals after a close tie against PSG, losing on away goals – PSG having already been eliminated.

A Super Cup that could be decisive

Since the Spanish Super Cup changed its format to a four-team final in Saudi Arabia – starting in the 2019-20 season – Barça and Real Madrid are the only two teams to have participated in all seven editions. In fact, the last four finals have been Clásicos, with Barça winning three and Real Madrid only once. Barça dominates the competition overall with sixteen titles, followed by Real Madrid with thirteen. Furthermore, since the competition moved to Saudi Arabia mid-season, the Super Cup winner has also won La Liga in six of the seven editions. Barça has done so twice (2022-23 and 2024-25), while Real Madrid has achieved it three times (2019-20, 2021-22, and 2023-24). The only time this pattern wasn't repeated was in the 2020-21 season, when Athletic Club defeated Barça in the Super Cup final and Atlético de Madrid were crowned league champions.