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May 18, 2013

The head coach: Xavi Pascual

Few head coaches, if any, have been more successful than Xavi Pascual has in his first four full seasons in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. Pascual, 39, arrived at F.C. Barcelona in 2004-05 to coach its fourth-division squad and coordinate all of its youth teams. In just one year, Pascual was promoted to the first team as Dusko Ivanovic's assistant coach, helping Barcelona reach the 2006 Final Four. Pascual replaced Ivanovic as head coach in February 2008 and guided the team to the Spanish League finals.

In his first full season as head coach, Pascual's Barcelona squad won the Spanish League title and made it to the 2009 Final Four. In 2010, he did even better, lifting the Spanish King's Cup and, above all, the club's second Euroleague trophy. At 37, Pascual had become one of the youngest coaches ever to win the Euroleague. Last season, Pascual could not reach the Final Four but he bounced back at home, winning the Spanish League and the King's Cup trophies.

Pascual studied to become an industrial engineer and it shows in the well-organized, methodical and under-control character of his teams. He has turned Barcelona into one of the best defensive teams in Euroleague history, allowing just 61.5 points per game this season. Though ambitious and analytical, Pascual is also a player's coach who has built a true team on a foundation of loyalty. Together, Pascual and Barcelona's rock-solid squad make a new bid now to conquer another Euroleague title in Istanbul.

Euroleague.net