Real Madrid's worst enemy is in shape

BarcelonaDuring the eight seasons he led Barça's first team (2008-2016), Xavi Pascual became Real Madrid's biggest headache. Joan Plaza, Ettore Messina, Emanuele Molin, and Pablo Laso all endured a period of clear Barça dominance, in which the Catalan club won four league titles, three Copa del Rey trophies, and four Supercopa titles. Barça reached nine consecutive league finals, six Copa del Rey finals, and seven consecutive Supercopa finals. Pascual's first six years at Barça were particularly devastating for their eternal rivals, who took a long time to recover from the blow. The consolidation of Laso's position and a significant financial investment by Real Madrid, who made the right choices by selecting key Spanish national team players like Sergi Llull, Rudy Fernández, and Sergio Rodríguez, helped to reverse the trend.

"I value the fact that we're on a good run in the league, beyond the standings, which I'm not paying much attention to yet. The team reacted well after the defeat against Monaco," says Pascual, who on Sunday (12:30 pm, TV3 and DAZN) will experience his first Clásico since returning to Barça. The coach will be without Will Clyburn and Juan Núñez, and the participation of Jan Vesely, who missed the game against Casademont Zaragoza, is doubtful. "We all look forward to games like this against Real Madrid, and we're really eager to compete," he says.

Real Madrid, who come into the Clásico as leaders of the Liga Endesa, defeated Dubai Basketball on Friday in a Euroleague game, but they aren't taking any chances against a Barcelona side that has improved significantly since Xavi Pascual took over as coach. The Madrid team has much more depth, but that doesn't worry the coach from Gavà. "We must focus on the fact that it's five against five on the court for 40 minutes. We have to see it that way: try to minimize their strengths, maximize our own, and try to control the game one way or another depending on what suits us. It will be a very difficult game, but when we've been at our best, we've been ready to compete against anyone.

"We must be prepared for a big game against a team with a very deep roster, with 15 or 16 top players and very high potential," analyzes Pascual, who in recent weeks has gotten unexpected benefit from players like Miles Norris and Youssoupha Fall.

Barça will qualify for the Copa del Rey this week if they combine a victory against Real Madrid with losses for Dreamland Gran Canaria and Baloncesto Girona. Although the economic situation isn't encouraging, the club is keeping a close eye on the market. "The situation is still open." We agreed that we would reassess the situation after January. We need to have conversations, and we haven't had them yet," he recalls.

White trend

The last time Real Madrid visited the Palau Blaugrana, still with Joan Peñarroya on the home bench, the victory went to the white team. who won 92-101 in a Euroleague gameReal Madrid defeated Barcelona for the ninth consecutive time, continuing the trend of recent years. Joan Laporta watched the Clásico and some waving white handkerchiefs in the final stages, live on air. Barcelona fans called for the resignation of Josep Cubells, who dismissed the Terrassa-born coach a few days later.