By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Spanish play-caller Xavi Pascual remains the head coach of Zenit.
Pascual, 51, signed a contract extension with the Saint Petersburg, Russian outlet Sport Express reported on Thursday morning. On Friday, Zenit officially confirmed the returning play-caller for the 2024-25 season.
Per the press release: “Spanish coach Xavi Pascual stays at Zenit. The new agreement is signed for 1 year until the end of the 2024/25 season.
The upcoming season will be the Maestro’s sixth at the head of the St. Petersburg Club.
Pascual made a qualitative breakthrough and made a historic contribution to Zenit’s results. As head coach, Xavi led the team to the Euroleague playoffs for the first time, became the Club’s absolute record holder in the number of wins, as well as the most titled coach in the history of the blue-whites. Together with Zenit, Pascual won 8 trophies (VTB League Belov Cup, Russian Championship Cup, Russian Cup, 2x VTB League Super Cup, 3x Kondrashin and Belov Cup), as well as silver medals of the VTB League Supercup and the Russian Cup and two times bronze awards of the VTB League.
Zenit congratulates Xavi Pascual on the new agreement and wishes him new victories in St. Petersburg!”
In charge of Zenit since 2020, he was rumored to be considering a return to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, linked to several teams over recent summers.
Pascual carries the experience of 330 games in Europe’s premier club continental competitions, including 39 with his current team across the 2020-21 season. Appearances in 2021-22 were annulled since all Russian clubs were disqualified due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The remaining games were between his three years at Panathinaikos from 2016 to 2019 and nine previous campaigns with FC Barcelona. In 2010, he was crowned EuroLeague champion and received the Alexander Gomelsky EuroLeague Coach of the Year award, guiding Regal FC Barcelona to its second and last title to date.
His successful expeditions have been extended to Zenit and guiding his side to the first VTB United League championship in team history, in 2022.
In the most recent installment of the VTB, Zenit secured the second seed in the Regular Season but ranked third in the final standings after being eliminated from third-seeded and later champion CSKA in the Semifinals and wrapping up the Playoffs on the winning end of a best-of-five series for the third spot versus Lokomotiv Kuban.