More than a decade at the helm of Barça and fired from the club after signing the perfect season (60 wins in 60 games), and now he appears in what was his court, but this Thursday (20:45, Esport3 and DANZ) at the Palau Xavi Pascual will be on the other bench, and in the visiting dressing room in full reorganization of the Barça game that in the first month and a half of the season has already added two defeats.
The Bucharest Dynamo that Pascual now directs rules in the Romanian League, It has been reinforced to dominate in its country and not be a simple team of the bunch in the Champions League. Xavi has a personal bodyguard with the signings of his son Alex, end, pivot Sorhaindo, and for two weeks of Gurbindo, Spanish international who was going to play for Vardar but has finished in Romania, The three are ex-Barcelona players, and also this Dissingir, a German international who was signed by Atlético de Madrid the year he disappeared and also comes from Vardar, plus Racotea (exBidasoa ) and Ghedbane (Ademar) and with the Catalan Javier Humet, a left-handed winger like Gurbindo, who after playing for Asobal has settled in Romania to the point of playing for his national team.
For Carlos Ortega, this match of the fourth day of the Champions League has a tricky point: he is a favorite, he has the obligation to win, and a defeat would be a catastrophe. But opposite is the coach who built that Barça team and who knows better than anyone the weaknesses of the entire group.
And another advantage of Dinamo: While Barça is going for its fifth game in eight days, Dinamo, who arrived in Barcelona this Wednesday, is more rested because the week before they had no effort during the week. In addition, it is the first match between both clubs in all history.
“I am very satisfied with my decision to come to Romania”
Dinamo Bucharest will face Barça tomorrow (8:45 pm) at the Palau Blaugrana in the Champions League in a very special crash for Xavi Pascual, the current coach of the Romanian team who, in an interview with EFE, is delighted with his new position.
You wanted to stay at Barça and leaving the club was a tough moment. Don’t you want to look back?
I believe that in this life you have to look forward and that is what I do. I don’t know what the future will hold but, right now, I’m happy with what I have and I’m happy, which is what it’s all about.
He directed his last game with Barça at the Palau, on May 29, on the last day of the ASOBAL League. Tomorrow he will sit for the first time, in almost twelve years, on the visiting team’s bench after a controversial departure from the club, having won all the titles without losing a game. Anything to say about it?
Absolutely. The only thing I hope is that everything that happened with my departure from the club does not harm him. I’m from Barça, I’m a member and a very culé. In the end, it was the partners who elected the current president (Joan Laporta) and he is the one who has the capacity to make the decisions. If you take them, you have no choice but to accept them and that is the right thing to do.
How are your feelings about tomorrow’s match?
Right now they are normal, like those I have in any other encounter. Eager to play the game, to compete, and more against Barça, one of the best teams in Europe. When I am at the Palau, I am sure you will be special seeing so many people I know and have not seen for a long time.
And will it be special to see the fans again?
Of course, because they always treated me well and in the last games of last season they showed me all their affection and I am very grateful to them. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.
His contract with Dinamo Bucharest is for three years and in September he was also appointed coach of Romania in his second stage. Work is not lacking.
After arriving at the team, the Romanian federation contacted me and I spoke with the club to see if they saw feasible that I could combine both tasks, and there was no problem. The truth is that I was excited because in my first stage (2016-2018) I could not finish a project that I would have liked to complete. They were quite good years, but now the situation is complicated and I want to help as much as I can.
When you signed for Dinamo, you said you were concerned about the team entering the Champions League. Why?
Because it is difficult for a team like ours and I believe that we are not yet one hundred percent ready to play at this level. Even so, for us it is very important, because we are growing, and the club is making a spectacular effort to be a regular every year in this competition.
They have signed ten players for this season. Do you have the template you wanted?
First of all, some of them were already signed when I arrived and the club has made an effort to make the team much more professional. I think that some signings have already contributed this point of professionalism and, obviously, the philosophy has changed and the idea is to take it to more professional points.
Was it a surprise to have been able to sign Spanish international Edu Gurbindo?
A pleasant surprise. For us, he is a special player and his quality is beyond doubt. It will provide something that we lacked, such as experience. Both he and Cedric (Sorhaindo) and Christian (Dissinger) bring that experience that we lacked in this competition.
Have you adjusted to life in Bucharest?
This is not Barcelona, but it is lived very well. I think that one must know how to adapt to all situations in life. Obviously living in Barcelona or Castelldefels, as was my case, was spectacular because you were at home and you had everything. Here I have almost everything, I have no complaints about anything, but it is true that I find my friends and my eldest son Ivan, who is not here, missing. I am with my wife, Ana, and my son Álex, who lives in another house.
Undefeated leader of the Romanian League and showing his face in the Champions League. He is satisfied?
We are doing good results in the League, especially against the powerful teams from Romania. What I notice is perseverance in training, training hard, something that they were not very used to here and I think we have achieved a level of demand, which is not yet what I would like, but which has allowed us to take a leap in quality. .
What do you think of the current Barça?
Obviously I follow Barça, among other things, because they are a rival of my group in the Champions League. I have seen him play not only the Champions League but also the ASOBAL League and the Super Globe. What I believe, and I also believed when I was at Barça, is that when you play with the great teams you can lose and you have to accept it. Just as if you play on the Veszprém court you can lose or to a great team like Magdeburg, as has happened now.