FCBARCELONA.CAT

21.11.2008 13:01

After tenth win in a row

David Puig

Against Getafe, Barça are looking for what would be their tenth league win in a row, something the club has only ever managed twice before in its entire history.

Winning streaks don’t always mean titles, but certainly show that a team is in form and these things can count for a lot towards the end of the season. On Sunday, Barça will be looking to beat Getafe and confirm their place at the top of the table, but also to take their winning run up to ten games, which would equal the club’s second best ever run of victories, which dates all the way back to the 1955/56 season.

Four short of record

The highest ever number of consecutive wins for Barça was recorded under Frank Rijkaard in the 2005/06 season, when the side won an amazing 14 games on the trot, scoring 38 goals and conceding just 6 between games 8 and 21 of the season. Barça ended up winning the league by a margin of 12 points over second placed Real Madrid.

Records no guarantee of titles

But such good runs don’t always mean the team will end up lifting the trophy. If we go back to 1955/56, Barça had the likes of Kubala, Ramallets, Biosca and Seguer in the squad that racked up ten consecutive wins, yet the title ended up going to Athletic Bilbao. In the 2003/04 season, Barça won nine games in a row in Rijkaard’s first season, but finished second in the table behind Valencia.

Titles without major streaks

And just like records don’t mean titles, Barça have also been known to win the championship without recording any particularly dramatic feats. Good examples are the 1947/48 and 1948/49 seasons when Barça ended up champions but never strung together any more than four wins in a row. And under Terry Venables in the 1984/85 season, Barça never chalked up a winning streak any greater than five, but still collected the league title.

The Dream Team under Johan Cruyff delighted the world with its spectacular football and four consecutive championships, but didn’t set any major records when it came to winning streaks either. The best Cruyff ever achieved was seven in a row in the 1992/93 season.