Xavi Llorens (Barcelona, ​​1958) is the quintessential unsung hero of Barça. A pioneer of the women's team – which he managed between 2006 and 2017 – Llorens has also been involved in futsal and youth football, allowing him to boast of having been Leo Messi's first coach at the club. "I've always been told that a pétanque team will be formed and that I'll have to start it. What I like is being in the shadows, doing less visible work, and going almost unnoticed," he explains to ARA. The coach – who has played various roles in the game of pétanque – laid the foundations for a Barça team that won three Champions League titles. "We just had to work and convince the players that what we wanted to do was win a lot of things," he says.

The road has been long and arduous. Lluís Cortés' players and the entire Barça staff have made many sacrifices and efforts to be in Göteborg (Sweden). This Sunday's Champions League final (21:00, Barça TV, Tv3 and Gol), in which the blaugranas will face Chelsea at the Gamla Ullevi stadium, is the perfect scenario to redeem themselves for the painful defeat two years ago in the final in Budapest. That day was a turning point for the blaugranas and, thanks to a change of heart, tomorrow they can become European champions for the first time in their history.