Simeone aiming to become the first manager to beat Flick four times

Diego Simeone could become the first manager to defeat Hansi Flick four times when Atletico de Madrid face Barcelona on Sunday, having already beaten the German three times during his professional coaching career.

Flick began managing in 1996 with fourth-tier German club Victoria Bammental, but no coach has caused him more problems than Simeone. Even before the latest meeting at the Metropolitano, the Atletico manager had established himself as the biggest obstacle of Flick’s career, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.

The match also comes with the possibility of further milestones for Simeone. If Atletico win, he could enter next week’s international break at the top of La Liga and become the competition’s most successful manager in terms of victories.

Simeone moved level with Luis Aragones on 344 La Liga wins after Atletico’s victory over Levante, despite having reached that figure in 192 fewer matches.

The two managers have met 12 times in total. Two of those matches came while Flick was in charge of Bayern Munich, with the other 10 played since his appointment as Barcelona manager. Flick has the better overall record, with seven victories and two draws, but Simeone has proved the coach most capable of troubling him.

Their first meeting since Flick moved to Barcelona came during the 2024-25 season at Montjuic. Atletico produced a late comeback to win 2-1, a result which saw them crowned winter champions and gave Simeone his first La Liga victory at Barcelona.

The two most damaging defeats for Flick came last season. Atletico won the first 4-0 after scoring all four goals in 45 minutes, a result that helped them reach the Copa del Rey final.

Simeone then guided Atletico to a 2-0 victory in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona. Flick’s side could not overturn that deficit in the return fixture.

Flick’s earlier setbacks

To find the other managers who defeated Flick three times, it is necessary to go back to the early stages of his career in Germany’s lower divisions, before he became established at Bayern Munich.

Twenty-one years ago, Robin Dutt achieved three victories over Flick while managing Stuttgarter Kickers during the 2005-06 season. His wins came against Hoffenheim, the club Flick had taken into the Regionalliga Sud, Germany’s third tier.

Hermann Gerland also recorded three victories against Flick while managing Bayern Munich’s reserve team. Around 15 years later, Gerland became Flick’s assistant with both the Germany national team and Bayern Munich.

Two seasons before that, Hans-Jurgen Boysen completed three wins over Flick during spells with Schweinfurt 05 and Kickers Offenbach.

Earlier still, Gerd Schweikert beat Flick during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons with Wehen, where current Real Sociedad manager Pellegrino Matarazzo played, before defeating him again with SV 07 Elversberg in 2003-04, Marca reported.