Andres Iniesta reckons that the way Jose Mourinho guided the Real Madrid squad during his spell as head coach there for duration of 3 years, it was not good for Spanish Football because he developed hatred in the minds of the Madrid players for their arch rivals Barcelona.

According to Iniesta, the matches between Madrid and Barcelona are always intense because the two teams have been the arch rivals for a long time, but that doesn’t need to lead to hatred. Rivalry is one thing and hatred is a completely different thing. What used to happen in the clasicos during Mourinho’s stint was not just rivalry, it was something else and it’s not that only Barcelona players felt it, even some of the Real Madrid players would have felt that it was obnoxious and it had its direct effects on the development of the national squad.

““You don’t have to be from Barcelona or Real Madrid to know that the situation was unpleasant“ and the key component in that story was Mourinho.” “Iniesta was quoted saying“ by FOX sports.

“The atmosphere developed and it was unbearable.” Iniesta added.

Madrid and Barcelona might be the arch rivals, but they are both Spanish teams at the end of the day and they both produce players for the national squad who have to gel with each other to represent Spain at the international level, but because there was that feeling of hatred developed between the two camps, the players just couldn’t gel with each other. They were just not comfortable and it was since that time that Spain’s stature as an international team started diminishing as in the last 8 years, they have not been able to make even the quarter final round of any World or continental tournament.