The coach signs a two-year deal after three seasons as assistant coach of the men's professional team
Coach Xavi Albert (Valencia, 17/07/1987, 38 years old) has been chosen to lead our men's first team for the next two seasons after three campaigns as assistant coach of the professional men's squad. This will not be Albert's first experience in the head coach position on the Valencia bench, as he had to take over this role in the final stretch of the 2023-24 season during eleven games, securing the top seed position in the Regular Season in the final matchdays of that campaign.
With this appointment, Valencia Basket makes a commitment to the continuity of a clear identity and a well-defined style of play by giving the opportunity to the lead assistant of the coaching staff from recent seasons. And it remains faithful to its philosophy of betting on talent developed at L'Alqueria del Basket when ready, closing the circle of a coach who has been growing and standing out in our youth categories and in Spanish national team roles with his appointment as head coach of the men's first team.
A lifetime linked to Valencia Basket
Xavi Albert has significant experience on the sidelines despite being just days away from turning 39. After starting as a coach and youth coordinator at Ros Casares Valencia, he joined our Club in 2012 to lead different youth category teams.
During his time with Valencia's youth teams, he won the Adidas Next Generation Tournament with the junior team held in Valencia in December 2018, securing a spot for the Final Eight, qualified for the playoffs and came close to promotion with the LEB Plata team, and combined experience in 2022 with an invitation from the Portland Trail Blazers to join the coaching staff of the Oregon team in the Las Vegas Summer League, which ultimately won that NBA summer tournament.
Between 2018 and 2023, he also joined various coaching staffs in the Spanish national team's youth categories. That last year, in the summer of 2023, after also winning the European U-16 championship as Spanish coach of that category, he joined Álex Mumbrú's coaching staff as assistant coach of the men's first team.
On April 5, 2024, following the dismissal of the Catalan coach, Xavi took over as head coach and made his debut with a victory at La Fonteta against Baskonia 111-101. His ACB trajectory led him to win five of the last seven Regular Season games to reach fourth place at the end of the first phase of the competition. And he made his EuroLeague debut on the road against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.
After this experience, he resumed the role of assistant coach, this time under Pedro Martínez. Two seasons in which, as part of the staff, he has continued to work on that basketball proposal that he has always tried to implement in all his teams. Now, the challenge and opportunity comes again for him to give continuity to that style by taking charge of the Valencia project.