Xavi slams Mourinho's tactics with Real Madrid

Posted Sunday, June 09, 2013 by Goal.com

The Barcelona star believes the Portuguese coach's side lacked the style and philosophy of the Galacticos team of the turn of the century

Barcelona midfielder Xavi has slammed Jose Mourinho's brand of football while at Real Madrid, claiming his style was not befitting a club of their stature.

Despite wresting the Liga crown from Barcelona in 2011-12, the Portuguese's stint at Santiago Bernabeu became marred by on-pitch controversy and dressing-room spats, most notably with club captain Iker Casillas.

Xavi believes Mourinho's conduct was a blot on the reputation of los Blancos, and pointed to the Galacticos era at the turn of the century as evidence of how a club of such stature should operate.

"I don’t want people to think that I’m always attacking Mourinho, that’s not my intention, but obviously I don’t like the way his teams play on the pitch,” the 33-year-old revealed to Sport.

"It annoyed me to see them play like that as they had an idea and a concept before. [Zinedine] Zidane, Roberto Carlos - they were incredible.

"They dominated every area of the pitch. You had to look at the facts and just admit they were better. It was the same with the Madrid side in the 'Quinta del Buitre' era, another amazing team with a clear and sound philosophy.

"A big club can't play like Mourinho's Madrid. We don’t let the pitch dry up so it turns into a ‘potato field’, nor do we kick the other team 30,000 times or try to turn up the heat in a game. We didn’t even do that when Madrid went above us.

"We’ve won, drawn and lost, but always according to a footballing philosophy. The result is an impostor; it goes beyond winning and losing."

Madrid lost their Liga crown to Barcelona last season before Mourinho opted to quit the club in favour of a return to Chelsea.