Xavier Pascual

From 1990 to 2005, Pascual worked as a head coach and assistant in five different clubs, but they were all youth or amateur ones. At that time, the future Zenit coach was studying to become an engineer and had to work in basketball to support himself financially. In 1995, he took on the position of technical director at a Catalan company but didn't want to give up coaching. And so it continued... He gradually progressed to the fourth division of the Spanish championship and eventually reached the youth team of his hometown club, Barcelona.

Pascual spent a total of 11 years at Barcelona. In the first three years, he was an assistant to Dusko Ivanovic, a coach whom Xavi himself loved, respected, and followed even before they worked together. But on February 14, 2008, Ivanovic left and did it so unexpectedly that there was practically no time to find a replacement. At first, Xavi temporarily took on the role for a month, and then until the end of the season.

Thus began Xavi Pascual's independent career, during which he led the Catalan giants for 8 years, bringing them the Euroleague championship, four national league titles, three Copa del Rey trophies, and four Spanish Supercup titles.

Afterward, Pascual spent two years in Greece, where he won two championships with Panathinaikos and one national cup title. After leaving Panathinaikos, the Spaniard took a season off, and in 2020, he found himself in St. Petersburg. Over the course of three seasons, he led our team to two victories in the Konstantin Kondrashin and Alexander Gomelsky Cup, a victory in the United League Supercup, and, of course, the title of the United League champion in 2022.