‘Perez is my friend’ but as game gets closer ‘we have talked less’published at 14:20 BST
14:20 BST
Liverpool v Villarreal (Tue, 20:00 BST)
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola on Villarreal: “For me it is a special game because Inigo [Perez, Villarreal boss] is my friend. We know each other since the academy years in Athletic Club, we played with each other in the first team. As soon as he retired, I was quick enough to grab him to help as an assistant. We’ve been through a lot of things together.
“It is a privilege for me to face him in a Champions League game. He knows me very well, he knows everything. It is a team that I follow, I know the players and it is going to be a little bit strange but in a good way.”
On whether he has spoken to Perez before the game: “When these things happen [facing each other in a match], it is not good for relationships. I talk to him a lot, but when you know you are going to face each other, you stop talking because you leave the distance, you don’t want to… Lately, it is probably the moment we have talked less.
“We normally call time to talk about La Liga, the Premier League, about football, other stuff, about our families. But now when the game gets closer, we haven’t been in touch.”