Lopetegui appreciates the way Guardiola has helped more Spanish coaches make their way to England.
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He told DAZN: "I have a good relationship with all of them and we each do our own thing, but when we have to face each other we have a lot of respect. Pep, who I have been a teammate with and because of our age, is the one I have the closest relationship with."
However, he has a special fondness for the one who, for him, paved the way for all the coaches who have left Spain for Europe.
“We are given a lot of value and it is important, but I always talk about the first ones who paved the way for leaving Spain, like (Rafa) Benítez . He paved the way for us and in Spain he has not been given the value that he has.”