'You can't expect Mourinho teams to be aesthetically pleasing or to play well' - Tito Vilanova

'You can't expect Mourinho teams to be aesthetically pleasing or to play well' - Vilanova

May 3, 2012 12:45:00 PM

The soon-to-be Barca boss slammed his Blancos counterpart for his negative approach in an interview in November 2010, and claims the Portuguese is hungry for attention

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho's fierce rivalry with Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola is well documented, but there was never much love lost between the Portuguese boss and his assistant Tito Vilanova either.

Much of the tension between the duo goes back to the infamous eye-poking incident earlier this season in the Spanish Supercopa, but Vilanova, who enjoys a close relationship with Guardiola and is set to take over as Barca boss this summer, had previously criticised Mourinho shortly before the Blaugrana's 5-0 win over Madrid at Camp Nou in the winter of 2010.

"It cannot be that a coach says each week whatever he wants and when someone answers him, he jumps on top of them. In the end, Mourinho is a football coach who never talks about football, and we don't like that," Vilanova told La Vanguardia in 2010.

"Mourinho's teams try to have six players, four defenders and two defensive midfielders, who are very tight at the back, who are usually physical footballers. And the four in front of them peel off and wait. You can't expect Mourinho's teams to be aesthetically pleasing or for them to play really well."

Vilanova also slammed the Madrid boss for his tendency to be the centre of attention, and criticised the Santiago Bernabeu side for their spending culture.

"It's not good when coaches are such protagonists. I can only understand that a coach wants more attention because he hasn't experienced the sensation that the players go through. He would like to be a footballer because he was never one.

"Madrid have always had great players. It's normal with the investment they have made. It's the biggest outlay in history. They have signed the players they wanted and more. They have spent more than double what we have spent. But there is nothing in their play that appeals to me."

Vilanova will officially take the reins at Camp Nou on July 1 when Guardiola's contract ends on June 30.

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