Xavi was shocked to see Chelsea manager adopt a defensive management style after leaving Barcelona.

Mourinho led the Blues to a first Premier League title in five seasons last term, but was criticised for his side's inclination to sit back and squeeze out victories in the latter part of the season.

The Portuguese boss was hailed for his 'masterstoke' defensive tactics as he led Inter Milan to Champions League success in 2010, while Cristiano Ronaldo once spoke out in frustration against Mourinho prioritising containment during his spell at Real Madrid.

But Xavi, who now plays for Qatari club Al-Sadd, says the current Chelsea boss once embraced the Barcelona philosophy while working under Louis van Gaal in Catalan.

“He was excellent in his three years at Barca," the 35-year-old told ESPN.

Five key issues for Chelsea during the international break 5 show all Five key issues for Chelsea during the international break 1/5 How to solidify Chelsea's defence? After pairing up John Terry and Zouma in central defence, shifting Azpilicueta to right back and starting Abdul Baba Rahman at left back for Chelsea's Champions League game against Dynamo Kiev last week, it seemed Mourinho may have found the right formula.



However, all four players were at fault for Marko Arnautovic's winner for Stoke against the champions on Saturday, which will no doubt pose the question: how can Mourinho solidify his defence until the January transfer window?



Baba Rahman, in particular, has proved unreliable at times defensively in the games that he's played while Terry and Gary Cahill have looked shaky and off the pace as well.



With Branislav Ivanovic available following injury, Mourinho must now decide whether to reintroduce the defender at right back or leave him out entirely considering he was one of Chelsea's poorest performers earlier in the season. Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images 2/5 How to get the best out of Diego Costa? The striker has been a shadow of the player who fired in 20 Premier League goals last season to help the Blues win the Premier League title.



Although he has shown the same kind of aggressive play that allowed him to beat defenders last term, Costa is beginning to look uncertain at times in front of goal.



His lack of goals this season - he's only scored three for Chelsea in all competitions - may have affected his confidence while the fact that opposing defenders have shackled and marked him superbly this term may have also played its part in Costa struggling to score.



Nevertheless, Mourinho must find a way to boost the striker's confidence and get him scoring soon or make the decision to start Loic Remy against Norwich, with the France international having appeared sharp during his cameo appearance against Stoke City on Saturday. Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images 3/5 How can Mourinho boost morale in the Chelsea camp? Baba Rahman may have insisted there are no problems in the Chelsea dressing room but, as John Terry revealed, the squad have not been happy with how their season has gone.



The team looked dejected as they walked off the Britannia Stadium pitch last Saturday, and Mourinho now needs to find a way to boost the team's confidence and morale - and quickly.



It looked as though he may have done that after Chelsea beat Dynamo, but the team panicked in the second half against Stoke, despite having performed well in the first half.



One thing that will not have helped the team is the media glare that has surrounded the Blues boss - from the Eva Carneiro saga to his two misconduct charges.



And what could play a role in Chelsea's revival is for Mourinho to avoid any such future controversy and find a short-term fix to the players' confidence issues. Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images 4/5 Should Chelsea's attacking play be built around Willian? Willian has been one of Chelsea's best players this season and he currently stands as the club's top scorer with five goals to his name - all from free kicks too.



However, his contributions to the Blues this season includes more than just goals - with the Brazilian's pace and high work rate having been important to Chelsea's attacking play.



Indeed, Willian has proved the most dangerous when playing on the right flank, but saw his impact to create attacks diminish somewhat when he started Chelsea's loss to Stoke in the No.10 role.



Mourinho moved Willian into the middle to accommodate Eden Hazard and Pedro on the flanks - but he will now have to decide what his best attacking midfield trio is: Willian on the right, Oscar down the middle and Hazard on the left or Fabregas and Pedro in the mix and Willian playing in the space behind Costa. Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images 5/5 Marking out potential January transfer targets After failing to sign key transfer targets such as John Stones in the summer, Mourinho will no doubt have already earmarked which players he wants to recruit in the upcoming transfer window.



But after seeing his first-team, who only won the Premier League in May, perform so poorly this season, the Chelsea boss could now be assessing extra players to bring in this January to provide competition for the likes of John Terry, Nemanja Matic, Hazard and Fabregas and ensure Mourinho has the strength in his squad to deal with the continued disappointing performances from some of his main players. Alex Livesey/Getty Images 1/5 How to solidify Chelsea's defence? After pairing up John Terry and Zouma in central defence, shifting Azpilicueta to right back and starting Abdul Baba Rahman at left back for Chelsea's Champions League game against Dynamo Kiev last week, it seemed Mourinho may have found the right formula.



However, all four players were at fault for Marko Arnautovic's winner for Stoke against the champions on Saturday, which will no doubt pose the question: how can Mourinho solidify his defence until the January transfer window?



Baba Rahman, in particular, has proved unreliable at times defensively in the games that he's played while Terry and Gary Cahill have looked shaky and off the pace as well.



With Branislav Ivanovic available following injury, Mourinho must now decide whether to reintroduce the defender at right back or leave him out entirely considering he was one of Chelsea's poorest performers earlier in the season. Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images 2/5 How to get the best out of Diego Costa? The striker has been a shadow of the player who fired in 20 Premier League goals last season to help the Blues win the Premier League title.



Although he has shown the same kind of aggressive play that allowed him to beat defenders last term, Costa is beginning to look uncertain at times in front of goal.



His lack of goals this season - he's only scored three for Chelsea in all competitions - may have affected his confidence while the fact that opposing defenders have shackled and marked him superbly this term may have also played its part in Costa struggling to score.



Nevertheless, Mourinho must find a way to boost the striker's confidence and get him scoring soon or make the decision to start Loic Remy against Norwich, with the France international having appeared sharp during his cameo appearance against Stoke City on Saturday. Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images 3/5 How can Mourinho boost morale in the Chelsea camp? Baba Rahman may have insisted there are no problems in the Chelsea dressing room but, as John Terry revealed, the squad have not been happy with how their season has gone.



The team looked dejected as they walked off the Britannia Stadium pitch last Saturday, and Mourinho now needs to find a way to boost the team's confidence and morale - and quickly.



It looked as though he may have done that after Chelsea beat Dynamo, but the team panicked in the second half against Stoke, despite having performed well in the first half.



One thing that will not have helped the team is the media glare that has surrounded the Blues boss - from the Eva Carneiro saga to his two misconduct charges.



And what could play a role in Chelsea's revival is for Mourinho to avoid any such future controversy and find a short-term fix to the players' confidence issues. Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images 4/5 Should Chelsea's attacking play be built around Willian? Willian has been one of Chelsea's best players this season and he currently stands as the club's top scorer with five goals to his name - all from free kicks too.



However, his contributions to the Blues this season includes more than just goals - with the Brazilian's pace and high work rate having been important to Chelsea's attacking play.



Indeed, Willian has proved the most dangerous when playing on the right flank, but saw his impact to create attacks diminish somewhat when he started Chelsea's loss to Stoke in the No.10 role.



Mourinho moved Willian into the middle to accommodate Eden Hazard and Pedro on the flanks - but he will now have to decide what his best attacking midfield trio is: Willian on the right, Oscar down the middle and Hazard on the left or Fabregas and Pedro in the mix and Willian playing in the space behind Costa. Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images 5/5 Marking out potential January transfer targets After failing to sign key transfer targets such as John Stones in the summer, Mourinho will no doubt have already earmarked which players he wants to recruit in the upcoming transfer window.



But after seeing his first-team, who only won the Premier League in May, perform so poorly this season, the Chelsea boss could now be assessing extra players to bring in this January to provide competition for the likes of John Terry, Nemanja Matic, Hazard and Fabregas and ensure Mourinho has the strength in his squad to deal with the continued disappointing performances from some of his main players. Alex Livesey/Getty Images

"They said he was a translator. Rubbish. He was the assistant coach, someone who understood the philosophy of Barça and who shared many of the same characteristics of van Gaal.

He was very respected by the players. He trained us sometimes alone at Barca B and he was excellent. I’m surprised that he became known for another type of football, more defensive, because he wasn’t like that with us.”