BarcelonaDuring the eight seasons he was leading the Barça first team (2008-2016), Xavi Pascual became Real Madrid’s biggest headache. Joan Plaza, Ettore Messina, Emanuele Molin and Pablo Laso endured a period of clear Blaugrana dominance in which the Catalan club won four Leagues, three King’s Cups and four Super Cups. The culer team contested nine consecutive finals of the League, six of the Copa del Rey and seven consecutive finals of the Super Cup.
Pascual’s first six years at Can Barça were particularly devastating for his eternal rival, who took time to recover from the blow. The consolidation of Laso and a big economic bet by Madrid, which succeeded with the choice of key players of the Spanish national team, such as Sergi Llull, Rudy Fernández and Sergio Rodríguez, served to change the trend.
“I value that we have a good trajectory in the League, beyond the classification, which I still don’t look at much. The team reacted well after the defeat against Monaco,” says Pascual, who will experience his first classic since returning to Barça on Sunday (12.30 p.m., TV3 and DAZN). The coach will have the casualties of Will Clyburn and Juan Núñez, and the participation of Jan Vesely, who missed the match against Casademont Zaragoza, is doubtful. “We all look forward to matches like this one against Madrid and we arrive there with a lot of desire to compete,” he says.
Madrid, who come to the classic as leaders of the Endesa League, beat Dubai Basketball on Friday in a match corresponding to the Euroleague, but do not rely on a much improved Barça since the arrival of Xavi Pascual on the bench. The white team has much more width, but this does not worry the coach of Gavà. “We have to focus on the fact that we are five against five on the court for 40 minutes. You have to see it like this: try to minimize their virtues, enhance our strengths and try to control the game in one way or another according to what suits us. It will be a very difficult game, but when we have been at the highest point we have been prepared to compete against everyone. Now we will have to see where we are due to the losses we have,” he summarizes.
“We have to be ready for a big game against a team that has a very long squad, with 15 or 16 top players and with very high potential”, analyzes Pascual, who in recent weeks has taken unexpected advantage of players like Miles Norris and Youssoupha Fall.
Barça will qualify for the Copa del Rey this day if they combine a win against Real Madrid with defeats at Dreamland Gran Canaria and Básquet Girona. Although the economic scenario does not invite optimism, the Barcelona club remains attentive to the market. “The situation is open. We decided that when the month of January passed we would reassess the situation. We need to have conversations, and we haven’t had any yet,” he recalls.
white trend
The last time Madrid visited the Palau Blaugrana, still with Joan Peñarroya on the home bench, the victory went to the white team, who prevailed by 92-101 in a match corresponding to the Euroleague. The Madrid side beat Barça for the ninth consecutive time, accentuating the trend of recent years. Joan Laporta witnessed the classic, and some scarves in the final stretch, live. Culer fans asked for the resignation of Josep Cubells, who a few days later dismissed the Egarenco coach.
