Stat attack: Xavi’s numbers compared to other Barcelona coaches after 100 games

Barcelona’s trip to Estadio do Dragao to take on Porto in the UEFA Champions League group stages clash for gameweek two will be a historic game as Xavi manages his 100th game for the club.

The Spaniard joins a lucrative list of only ten other coaches who have managed to hit the 100-game mark as a coach for Barcelona, with Johann Cruyff sat at the very top with a massive 430 matches.

But how does Xavi compare to the rest of the list in his Barcelona tenure so far? Barça Universal takes a look.

Lucho, Pep, Valverde lead the pack

After 100 games in charge of the blaugrana, Luis Enrique was the manager to garner the most wins, with 80, winning four titles already, including the treble.

With Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, and Luis Suarez in exceptional form throughout, his record of 282 goals across this century of games also stands as the second highest, behind only Fernandoc Daucik, whose Barcelona team had 297.

Pep Guardiola had 71 wins to his name with 242 goals, and a mammoth five trophies. He would go on to add the sixth a few months later, as well, completing the sextuple in his first season in charge of the club.

Ernesto Valverde completes the podium, with 68 wins and 241 goals. With Neymar no longer part of the club and Luis Suarez’s form in decline, the sheer amount of goals in his tenure is impressive.

Further, he also managed to win three trophies in the form of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup.

Xavi stands fourth in this list, with 62 wins out of 100 and 191 goals. He is the only one of the top five to not have hit the 200 goal mark yet.

With the La Liga and Spanish Super Cup last season, he has two pieces of silverware under his belt, though.

Context behind Xavi’s numbers

Xavi’s numbers, in no way, shape or form stand out compared to the rest of the list, but it is imperative to understand the context behind them.

Both Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde had a fair bit of money to spend during the start of their tenure. The former was blessed with the likes of Luis Suarez, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitic, Claudio Bravo, and others during his first summer window itself.

Josep Bartomeu signed three €100m-plus players for Valverde, too, even though the former Athletic Club coach did not quite get most of the players he desired.

Guardiola inherited a team in turmoil, and did not quite spend as much as the other two, but had the likes of prime Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves, and several others in the squad to make his life easier.

On the other hand, Xavi inherited a broken team that was under severe financial distress, under a new president.

While he was able to get a lot of his targets, like Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski, and Raphinha, the squad still has way too many cracks to paper over.

The fact that Xavi was able to win two trophies already with this team is a testament to his capabilities, and achieving 100 games as the coach of the Catalans.