Barcelona take on Real Madrid on Sunday 25 October at 9pm. Javier Varela takes a look at the records of the two managers...
José Mourinho ... does not need to be on the bench to turn a match into a major event. When he turns up for El Clásico, memories, unfinished business and a battle that begins long before kick-off all come into play.
Thirteen years after bringing his first spell at Real Madrid to a close, the Portuguese manager returns to face Hansi Flick for the first time in a Barcelona versus Real Madrid match.
Mourinho's rival is no longer Pep Guardiola, but Hansi Flick. On Sunday, the two managers face each other for the first time in a derby, having previously met in the 2020 Champions League final when Flick's Bayern Munich defeated Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur.
Historical rivalry and manager statistics
Since the first El Clásico took place in 1916, the two sides have faced each other on 263 occasions. Mourinho's debut against Guardiola's Barcelona was devastating: on 29 November 2010, Real Madrid suffered a 5-0 defeat at Camp Nou. That defeat sparked a period of intense rivalry, including a marathon sequence of four El Clásicos in 18 days across La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
Across 263 El Clásicos, statistics reveal 101 encounters where managers faced each other for the first time. Real Madrid won 50 of those maiden head-to-heads, Barcelona won 34 and 17 ended in draws.
Mourinho holds an overall career record against Barcelona of eight wins, nine draws and ten defeats across 27 competitive matches with Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
Flick arrives at Sunday's fixture on the back of nine wins from nine league matches, seeking his 100th win in charge of Barcelona. Recent precedents favour Barcelona, who won all four El Clásicos during the 2024–2025 season under Flick, including a 4-0 league win at the Santiago Bernabéu and a 5-2 victory in the Super Cup.
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