Croat on Barcelona's Bench: 'I Feel Great Pride, This Is a Dream Come True'
Zadar native Jurica Žuža officially joins Aleksandar Sekulić's coaching staff at one of Europe's biggest basketball clubs.
Zadar native Jurica Žuža officially joins Aleksandar Sekulić's coaching staff at one of Europe's biggest basketball clubs.
Croatian basketball expert Jurica Žuža has officially become an assistant coach at Barcelona. The 48-year-old from Zadar has joined the staff of head coach Aleksandar Sekulić, completing their long-standing successful collaboration and realizing their shared dream of leading a EuroLeague team.
The news of Žuža's arrival at the Catalan giants was announced on August 7, 2026, and he did not hide his enthusiasm. "It is an immense honor and great pleasure to be a coach for the pride of Catalonia. As President Joan Laporta himself emphasized at our meeting, Barcelona is more than a club (Més que un club). That's why I feel enormous responsibility here, but also immeasurable pride in being part of this great story and continuing my collaboration with Aleksandar," Žuža told Jutarnji list.
Žuža's path to the Barcelona bench was gradual and thorough. He began his coaching career in 2016 as an assistant at Lithuania's Lietkabelis, the club where he also ended his playing career. After that, he spent a longer period at another Lithuanian club, Neptunas, where he also made his debut as head coach.
The key moment in his career was meeting Aleksandar Sekulić. Their coaching tandem first won the double crown at Czech club Nymburk, then moved to Russia, where from 2022 to 2025 they jointly led Lokomotiv Kuban and achieved notable results. Last summer, they briefly reunited at Russia's Zenit, but after a few losses, the club parted ways with them. Žuža then returned to his native Zadar, while Sekulić took over Dubai on his own and won the ABA League with them.
When Barcelona's offer arrived, one of the main conditions of Slovenian expert Sekulić, who is also the head coach of the Slovenian national team, was that Žuža be his right-hand man on the staff. This is also a logical strategic move given Sekulić's national team commitments during August.
Žuža has already outlined the preparation plan for the new season. "We gather on August 17 and will work individually with the players available to us until September 2. When Saša, who is leading Slovenia, and some players who play for national teams return, we all go together to Andorra for preparations. For me and Saša, it's a dream come true to lead a EuroLeague club together," concluded the Zadar expert in an interview with Jutarnji list.
