Xavi intially thought Louis van Gaal was an 'idiot' at Barcelona

Former Barcelona skipper Xavi has revealed that he thought Louis van Gaal was an "idiot" when he first took over as manager of the Catalan club in 1997.

The midfielder, who now plies his trade in Qatar with Al Sadd, was a youngster at La Masia when the Dutchman was appointed, but the Spaniard soon learned of his then-manager's qualities.

"After two days of training under him I thought, 'Who is this idiot?' After a week, I thought, 'He's right.' He'll always be in my heart, Louis van Gaal," Xavi admitted to ESPN FC.

"(He is a) good person, very good trainer. He has a very strong character but he's calm in the Premier League because there's less pressure."

Xavi believes that over time the 64-year-old has improved as a manager.

"He's much calmer than when he was at Barca or Bayern Munich. He's honest, methodical, and a real perfectionist. He's very demanding, he's strict and he wants to achieve the highest levels possible. He's a tough fighter, yet he put trust into me when I was 17 and 18 years old."

Xavi had experience working with Chelsea's embattled boss Jose Mourinho too, when the Portuguese worked with the backroom staff at the Catalan outfit.

"He was excellent in his three years at Barca. They said he was a translator. Rubbish. He was the assistant coach, someone who understood the philosophy of Barca and who shared many of the same characteristics of Van Gaal.

"He was very respected by the players," Xavi continued. "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."