Espar, Three Years at the Helm

Espar, Three Years at the Helm

Xesco Espar said adios to the handball team after three years in charge. With his departure end one era, but another begins.

During his time, Espar won one big title every year. In his first year he won the Champions League, the second year he took the blaugrana to glory in the Asobal Liga and last year he finally got hold of the title that had eluded him, the Copa del Rey.

New era as physical trainer

Xesco Espar begins his new life with FC Barcelona as a physical trainer—with the objective of orientating and assessing the different blaugrana professions with the exception of football.

With the incorporation of Xesco Espar into his new role, he hopes to improve the methodology behind physical preparations and to study new working tendencies in the hope of incorporating them into the daily routine of the sports teams at the club.

A Sports researcher

Espar is a top researcher into the discipline of sport. He was a lecturer at the INEFC for 13 years from 1991 – 2004. He is a regular speaker at handball clinics around Spain and abroad, and he has taken part in many Masters programmes covering the theme. He has published three books and numerous articles on handball.

Therefore, this new role will be nothing new for Xesco Espar. The 1998-99 season, Valero Rivera trusted him to be the physical trainer of the handball first team. During seven seasons he put theory into practice to help the team win three European cups, four Asobal Supercups, four European super cups, six Pyrenees cups, three Asobal cups, four Asobal Liga titles, three Copas del Rey and an EHF cup.