Xavi Says 'My Teams Will Never Have' Jose Mourinho's Defensive Tactics

Xavi has said teams he goes on to coach "will never have" the same defensive tactics he says Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho's sides usually employ.

The Catalan icon, who's in his fourth season with Qatari side Al Sadd, turns 39 in January and told Corriere dello Sport (h/t the Independent's Ed Malyon) this is "99 percent" his last season of playing. 

Xavi added that he'll complete his UEFA Pro Licence in May, but said he won't be looking to Mourinho for tactical inspiration when he moves to the touchline:

"He is a very defensive coach and playing against his Inter was not easy.

"That is his style and he put it into practice at Chelsea and at Real Madrid.

"He takes care of all the details, he closes all the spaces and doesn’t give you much.

"I prefer a different style of football. I'm not criticising but I don’t like to play like that and my teams will never have this type of attitude."

Xavi was referring to the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League semi-final between Barcelona and Inter Milan, and Mourinho's blueprint worked on that occasion against Pep Guardiola's Barca. Inter would go on to beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the final.

It seems easier to criticise Mourinho now, in his 18th year as a senior manager, when major silverware has started to dry up and his sackings at Real Madrid and then Chelsea.

Xavi's years under Guardiola and in the Barcelona academy will have given him an excellent idea of how attacking football can translate into silverware.

Football writer Jeremy Smith provided quotes from Michel Platini, who spoke in the summer of Johan Cruyff's influence in moulding Guardiola, who is highly likely to in turn influence Xavi and more of his players' style of management:

It was under Guardiola that Xavi enjoyed his greatest successes, between 2008 and 2012. Fans and pundits alike often speak of Barca's 2009 and 2011 teams in that period as some of the best to have existed.

At the age of 39, Xavi will still be something of an unknown on the managerial scene in 2019, but it's at least clear how he plans for his teams not to play football when he does take that next step.