The precocious architect who is not afraid to rethink Barça

BarcelonaThe summer of 2020, when he was only 30 years old, Xevi Pujol became the youngest sports director in the Endesa League. The Catalan, whom Jaume Ponsarnau saw coaching in the Bàsquet Manresa youth academy when he proposed he be his assistant, moved from the court to the offices with great ease. His arrival caused some surprise. "I got a few jokes, because they were a bit shocked to see someone so young, but I was lucky enough to see how the mechanism works from some time ago. The sports director makes the final decision, but before that, there's a lot of talking with people in the offices and the technical staff," he explained in an interview with ARA.he explained in an interview with ARA.

Pujol doesn't like to beat around the bush. "I like to focus on what I'm doing at each moment. It's a privilege to be able to dedicate myself to professional sports at home. Right now I have so much work, so many things that fill my time, that I don't think about it much either," assured the young man, who used the German league as a recruitment pool. The bet was very successful, but it was the following season when he achieved excellence. The Bages team, coached by Pedro Martínez, took advantage of the performance of players like Sylvain Francisco, Chima Moneke, or Ismael Bako to reach the final of the Basketball Champions League.

After working with coaches of the prestige of Jaume Ponsarnau, Joan Peñarroya, Aleix Duran, Ibon Navarro, Diego Ocampo, or Pedro Martínez, his mark became very clear. "We wanted players who were willing to put in the effort and were supportive when competing for the ball and running the court. We were looking for a brave and proactive team that did things collectively. In offense, we looked for good spacing. In defense, to be connected. And all of that implies having a clear idea of what everyone has to do," concluded Pujol, who earned the reputation of an architect of impossible miracles.

Before being technical director, Pujol worked as an assistant coach with Marc Estany, whom he has now signed for Barça's technical staff. The two, who competed in the Minicopa when they were youngsters, forged a great friendship. Journalist Jordi Bofill brought them together in a report published in ARA in April 2020.

From Manresa to Vitoria

Pujol landed at Kosner Baskonia in the summer of 2025. Although the Catalan's discoveries, who opted for Paolo Galbiati as coach and rescued Eugene Omoruyi from Al Nasr of Dubai, led the Basque team to win the Copa del Rey, his situation in Vitoria was very uncomfortable. Although he was supposed to leave, Alfredo Salazar never stepped aside and did his best to ensure that his successor would be Juan Pedro Cazorla.

When he was planning to dismiss him, the Basque club learned of Barça's interest and it was then that they tried to get some economic compensation. Tired of not being able to negotiate, the Culer entity went ahead and expects to announce the incorporation of the new 36-year-old technical secretary very soon, two months after he announced his departure to Baskonia.

Barça, which is trying to repeat the model that worked in Manresa and Vitoria, has already signed nine players, but there will be more. Olivier Nkamhoua, Justin Robinson, Josh Nebo, Umoja Gibson, Agustín Ubal, Stanley Umude, Olek Balcerowski, Tyrese Martin and Tosan Evbuomwan are already confirmed. In addition, the club has incorporated Aleksander Sekulic as coach. The new scenario does not excite the fans at the Palau, who do not know many of the signings, but Pujol's obsession is to rejuvenate the team to escape controlled basketball and opt for modern basketball. The recipe is clear: proactive defense, fast play and offensive rebounding to have the initiative in the game.