Xavi Pascual (basketball)


Xavier Pascual i Vives, commonly known as Xavi Pascual, is a Spanish professional basketball coach who is currently the head coach of FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and EuroLeague. On 9 May 2010 he became the youngest head coach to win the EuroLeague championship, and soon after, he also won the EuroLeague Coach of the Year Award.

Coaching career

Early years

The first team Pascual coached was Gavà. Other teams that he coached early in his career were: Cornellà, Santfeliuenc, Olesa, and Aracena.

FC Barcelona

In the 2004–05 season, Pascual moved to FC Barcelona, where he became the head coach of FC Barcelona Bàsquet B, the club's Liga EBA reserve team.
In the 2005–06 season, he became assistant coach of the senior team of FC Barcelona, in the Liga ACB. After the team and then head coach Duško Ivanović parted ways in 2008, Pascual became the club's head coach. In his second season as head coach, Barcelona won the Spanish Championship, with Pascual becoming the youngest coach to ever do so. The following season, Pascual led Barcelona to victory in the 2009–10 EuroLeague. It was the club's second trophy in the competition.
On 21 September 2012, Pascual extended his contract with Barcelona, until the end of 2014–15 season. On 3 February 2015, he extended his contract with Barcelona, until the end of the 2016–17 season.
After the 2015–16 season, in which Barcelona failed to win the ACB Finals and was eliminated in the EuroLeague's quarterfinal playoffs, Pascual was fired. In total, Pascual won 19 trophies in his first tenure as FC Barcelona coach, including a EuroLeague and 4 Liga ACB championships.

Panathinaikos

On 22 October 2016, Pascual signed a three-year contract to be the head coach of the Greek Basket League team Panathinaikos. In domestic competition, Pascual led the Greens to back-to-back Greek League titles, in 2017 and 2018, and was named the league's best coach for both seasons. On 20 December 2018 Panathinaikos dismissed Pascual after he had spent two seasons with the club, bringing the Greens to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs in both, but failing to bring them back to the Final Four.

Zenit Saint Petersburg

In February 2020, Pascual took over as the head coach of Zenit Saint Peterburg of the VTB United League and the EuroLeague. Replacing fellow Catalan Joan Plaza on the job, he initially signed until the end of the season. After turning around the team's negative record in the 2020-21 EuroLeague and managing to qualify for the Euroleague Playoffs for the first time in club history, Pascual signed a contract extension for two more seasons in April 2021. The following season, Pascual led Zenit to its first major title, the 2021-22 VTB United League. Pascual extended his contract with Zenit twice in the following seasons, finding success winning two consecutive Supercups and a Russian Cup. His tenure at Zenit finally ended in June 2025, after five seasons and four trophies won with the Russians.

Return to FC Barcelona

After the dismissal of Joan Peñarroya during the 2025–26 season, Pascual was announced as the new FC Barcelona coach on 13 November 2025, returning 9 years after his previous stint. On 17 October 2025, he signed his new contract in the presence of club president Joan Laporta. The contract tied Pascual to the Catalans until 2028.

Honours

CB Aracena

LEB 2 : 2002–03Lliga Catalana LEB : 2003–04

FC Barcelona

Panathinaikos

Zenit Saint Petersburg

Individual

Personal life

Born in Gavà, Catalonia, Pascual has a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and worked as an engineer for the city council of Viladecans before focusing on his coaching career.