FCBARCELONA.CAT

20.06.2008 13:07

Pascual wants nothing but the best

Cristina Collado

Xavi Pascual cannot hide his excitement at becoming the coach of the basketball team, and in his presentation he has expressed is ambition, saying nothing but the best will do for him.

“For a Barça man like me, this is a dream moment because it was here that I started to dream that I could coach a team like Barça” said Xavi Pascual, who is delighted that the club has put its faith in him. “It is a satisfaction and a privilege that the Board of Directors and the technical secretary have put their trust in me. I demand the best I could ask for, which is winning everything. I think you will be proud of this section.”

Asked what kind of game we can expect of FC Barcelona, Pascual said “we want to be dynamic and intelligent in defence, to dominate rebounds from all angles, to be able to open the court through different players, and with the right speed and dynamism in offence.”

Praise for Pascual

Technical secretary Joan Creus is convinced Pascual was the right choice: “We have evaluated many aspects of Xavi, like we did with other great coaches, and our chosen option is him. We made a good choice, he is local man who has grown from below, starting at Cornellà to end up at Barça playing in the EBA. We hope everything goes well, he won’t be short of work.”

President Joan Laporta spoke about Xavi Pascual’s personality as being one of his main virtues: “We evaluated his determination when he took over this role, at the moment it happened. Also the image he has given of himself, he is elegant and determined, and on top of that he is a brave man. We also wanted somebody who identifies with the club, the city and the country. I am very happy to introduce Xavi as the man in charge of the basketball team. I want to encourage him to get our basketball back on course for success.”

Special memories

In his presentation, Pascual had words for all those people that had helped in his time with the basketball first team: “I want to stress the support I got from Zoran Savic who was always by my side and the work we did together has been frankly important. I also want to thank Dusko Ivanovic for the two years I spent him with because I learned a lot of things.”

Naming names

Pascual was also glad with the signing of Juan Carlos Navarro: “Players of such quality are always welcome, and if that means we can put on more pressure, that’s good too. Navarro is an icon at Barça and the Palau. He is a lad who feels the colours. We are happy with his quality, his human quality and the way he serves the team.”

Asked what kind of future role Jordi Trias and Mario Kasun will have, Pascual said they are part of his plans: “They are two players that have contracts with the club and therefore they are in our plans.”

Words of thanks

Xavi Pascual had words of thanks for two players that will not be at the club next season. On the one hand, Denis Marconato: “Denis was one of the central figures in the previous project, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with him over the last three years.”

Pascual also spoke of Pepe Sánchez: “He was a central figure in the Euroleague. He work very professionally under Dusko Ivanovic and took a big step forward when I took over the team.”