Xavi Pascual, coach of Zenit, spoke to Basketball Sphere about why he stayed at the Russian club, revealed whether there were any negotiations to return to Barcelona, and touched on his time at the Catalan club. Also, one of the topics was the famous game against Partizan in the championship season of the team from Blaugrana, and the atmosphere created by the Serbian fans.
The political situation in Russia and Ukraine has changed the European basketball order. CSKA Moscow, Zenit and UNICS were in the playoff zone of the EuroLeague until the end of February 2022, played a very important role in the elite competition, which was followed by a suspension that continues to this day. Thus, a giant like CSKA was prevented from being competitive in the fight for a new trophy, Velimir Perasovic‘s UNICS was stopped. They were an offensive machine very well balanced with a defensive potential in the form of John Brown, but the impression is that Zenit lost the most of all.
At the time of the suspension, the club from Saint Petersburg was in a high fourth position, the best Russian team, whose project was in a rush. The season before, with Xavi Pascual on the bench, this team tormented Barcelona, which barely avoided traveling to Russia with 0-2 after two games in Blaugrana. Later, the Catalan team will return one win away, take the series to the fifth game and there without any problem secure placement in the Final Four.
Zenit as the biggest loser
Credit to the players, but it was a series in which we enjoyed the coaching miniatures of Pascual and Sarunas Jasikevicius, who from game to game tried to find a way to stop Kevin Pangos, until then, the initiator of everything in Zenit. The duel between the Spanish and Lithuanian experts was the most talked about during those five clashes and the Russian team showed the parties in the next season that it was only the beginning of the rise, which should reach its peak in May 2022.
Zenit would, quite certainly, have avoided the top of the EuroLeague teams in the playoffs with the fourth position and would have had a chance to reach the highest goals. Pascual knows something about how to win the Final Four, and he proved that in 2010 with Barcelona, when he led one of the most dominant generations in the competition’s history to the very top. The Blaugrana team has not repeated that success.
When all that is taken into account, it is clear that Zenit is the biggest loser of the whole situation, but not only Zenit. European basketball also suffers without super-quality Russian clubs. Their potential return is even more intriguing due to the fact that there will be a certain change in the basketball structure of the Old Continent – Dubai, Paris, London, and some Turkish and Russian clubs. Everyone is waiting to take a place in the elite, in the near or somewhat distant future.
After the suspension of the Russian teams, many players and coaches decided to leave for other EuroLeague clubs. Pascual didn’t do that. Even though he is considered one of the best experts outside the EuroLeague and he is constantly “moved” to numerous EuroLeague giants whenever a coaching position opens up, the Catalan strategist has been in Russia for almost four years, after signing a three-year contract extension in 2021.
“I want to keep my word – that’s why I didn’t leave Zenit”
BS: At the beginning of this season, you formed a high-quality team, which currently features players of EuroLeague caliber, such as Bojan Dubljevic, Thomas Heurtel, Adrien Moerman, Kyle Kuric… Given that you are currently in the third position, when it comes to the VTB League, how satisfied are you?
“We started very well, had a good Super Cup with Fenerbahce, Besiktas and six other best teams in Russia and won the title. We have to be happy about that. Afterward, we had problems, some defeats and injuries. Five players were absent for more than a month at the same time, but we continued and now we are in a good position, we try to improve day by day.
We’ll see, if we’re in the top six, the playoffs will follow, so the season is long. It’s up to us to progress, work hard, to be lucky enough to avoid injuries in the most crucial moments and to win when it matters most,” Pascual began talking to Basketball Sphere.
BS: After signing for Zenit in February 2020, a year later you extended your contract for another three years. There was a possibility to use the “opt-out” option, but you didn’t do it. Coach, why did you stay at Zenit?
“For coaches, the decision to change the club is big and very important. It’s not just a matter of job. Of course, I can find a job elsewhere and leave. However, a coach must feel when it is the right moment to do it, the right place and the right time, to take into account the history of the club, the last year, the results…
I am very reflexive person. I think about those things a lot. In this case, it wasn’t the moment to leave and that’s why I didn’t leave. On the other hand, I am a person who likes to keep its word. When I signed, the situation was different. We had the EuroLeague. That’s gone, but I’m happy with the organization and I want to stay until the end of the contract.”
“The quality of the EuroLeague is a little bit lower”
BS: Do you see yourself as a Zenit coach after the contract expires?
“The answer is difficult, because we never know what can happen. What I can say is that I am 100 percent focused on Zenit and I want to finish the season in the best way. After that, regardless of whether we win something or not, the Zenit people and I have to think about the next steps and see what the best option is.”
BS: How do you see the quality of the EuroLeague, after the suspension of Russian clubs? How did such a situation affect the elite competition?
“At the time of the suspension of the Russian clubs, Zenit, CSKA and UNICS were among the best eight teams. Even though the new teams, which entered the EuroLeague, play very well, the level of competition has dropped a little bit without the Russian teams. It’s difficult to say, but I think so, because these clubs gave competitiveness to the EuroLeague. All the main players left the Russian clubs after the suspension and went to the elite competition.”
BS: You spent most of your career in Barcelona. From 2005 to 2008, you were an assistant, and then the head coach until 2016. At one time, it was considered that your Barcelona plays the best positional, half-court basketball in Europe. Now the situation is somewhat different, considering that the Catalan team has changed its philosophy compared to your period. How do you see Barcelona’s current games?
“In 2009, 2010, and 2011, we played very well. After that, for different reasons, in 2012 we had less potential in the team, but we were in the Final Four again. Since I left Barcelona in 2016, a lot has changed – from the coach to the players. Everything is completely different.
Even though the budget has been reduced, Barcelona is one of the best teams this season as well, as the standings shows. The budget is important, they signed good players and are looking well at the beginning of the new project. The philosophy is completely different because now their strongest weapon is transition and ‘running’. A different style, but effective.”
“I was never close to come back to Barcelona, absolutely not”
BS: Even though Barcelona has been a dominant factor in European basketball for years, they won only two titles in the EuroLeague. The last one with you. Why does Barcelona not have more success in the finals of the competition?
“I don’t know, it’s difficult to answer. Barcelona is always there, but for years others have had very good teams, like CSKA, which was incredible, then Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, and Real Madrid. They were always there with a group of five, six teams and after that came the era of Turkish teams. It is very difficult to win in such a competition. In recent years, they were very close, but did not succeed.
I don’t know how to answer that. I believe that after 2010 and the title, we could have done the same the next year if Pete Mickeal and Gianluca Basile hadn’t been injured, but that’s how it is. Sometimes you’re close, but you can’t make it. The most important thing for basketball is that Barcelona is always there, mostly in the Final Four, always in the playoffs, competitive, close to the trophy.”
BS: People connect you with Barcelona in almost every transfer window. Was there an option to go back?
“No, never. I was never close to come back to Barcelona, absolutely not. Whenever Barcelona has a problem, it’s easy to think that Xavi will go there, because that’s where he’s from. I understand those rumours, but no, I’ve never was near to go.”
Pascual about the famous game in “Pionir” and the atmosphere in Belgrade
BS: You are the creator of Barcelona’s last title in the EuroLeague and that very season you had an incredible score of 11-0 in the elite competition, until you ran into Dusko Vujosevic’s Partizan in the top 16 stage, when black and whites won by 67:66. Then, Luigi Lamonica, after a long review of the instant replay, decided that Pete Mickeal’s basket could not be counted and that Lawrence Roberts took the ball off properly. What is your memory of that situation?
“Of course I remember. Mickeal took a shot before the buzzer and then Roberts took the ball off the rim. On the beggining, Lamonica give the basket, if I am not wrong. After the check of instant replay, the basket was in bucket. He made a difficult decision, because it was on the verge of whether the ball went in or not. It’s theoretically normal to give a basket at the beggining, but after that, instant replay was required.
It’s part of the game. And I lost and won in such games. What is important is that we won the title that season. The crowd’s reaction was incredible, and I was on the floor trying to keep myself calm. Honestly, I love Serbian basketball, it’s amazing what kind of fans Partizan and Crvena Zvezda have. Only when you feel that atmosphere, you will see the meaning of the coaching job. It’s an incredible feeling, it’s something that all coaches wish for, to enjoy moments like these.”
BS: How do you see Partizan now? You had the opportunity to play against them, when they were led by Dusko Vujosevic, who had young players. Now the Serbian team has a slightly different philosophy and different goals with Zeljko Obradovic on the bench.
“Currently, they are having a great season. It was not easy for them at the beginning, due to many injuries. After Bruno Caboclo came, the team looks totally different. Despite the fact that they still have problems with injuries, they are doing very well. It is clear that this is a team on the rise, for me they are great candidates for the Final Four. Basketball is changing. Something people don’t remember is that the three-pointer was 6.25 when we won the EuroLeague. In 2011 it became 6.75. Nobody remembers that – 14 years ago it seems the line was the same.
Everything changes, the budget changes, but the most important thing is that Partizan is always there, always with incredible fans and always at the top of the EuroLeague, just like Crvena Zvezda. It is very nice for this sport. I hope that there will be no incidents at the end of the season and that everyone will respect the incredible basketball that they have”, Xavi Pascual concluded the conversation for Basketball Sphere, with the message that there were never any contacts to take over one of the Serbian clubs.