Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola have developed a personal and professional relationship over the last year.

Mazzulla visited Manchester City FC last February during the NBA’s All-Star break; since then, the pair have grown close.

Guardiola attended Game 1 of the NBA Finals between Boston and the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden in June. Both coaches were seen speaking together at mid-court before the game, which the Celtics won 107-89. Guardiola sat courtside for the contest, wearing a Celtics shirt.

Mazzulla didn’t go into much detail about the conversation and their friendship at the time, but it was clear that the Boston coach was learning from the soccer coaching legend.

Appearing on an episode of the “Men In Blazers” podcast with Roger Bennett, Mazzulla spoke at length about what Guardiola has meant to him not just as a coach, but also as a human off the court.

“I think you have to have people in the same world as you that you can rely on and talk to about other things besides [coaching],” Mazzulla said. “Our relationship has transitioned from more football to, ‘How are you doing as a person? How are you doing as a leader? How your family is doing,’ stuff like that.”

Mazzulla explained that they aren’t in constant contact during the season, but they do speak once or twice a month.

Why did Mazzulla want to reach out to Guardiola in the first place? He said he was fascinated by the manager’s coaching philosophy and the winning he’s experienced overseas.

“I’m nothing to where he is as a manager … He, tactically, is tremendous. He can manage talent and he can develop talent,” Mazzulla said. “I think when you’re taking a look at some of the best coaches of all time, they don’t necessarily have a weakness. They’re able to be great in multiple areas.

“… So just studying his sustained success, studying how he has become so well-rounded in all areas. It was just somebody that I felt like that could really help me, and so I appreciate his humility. He’s helped me so much in just all three of those areas. It’s been a fun journey growing a relationship with him.”

Mazzulla also drew comparisons between himself and Guardiola when they each began their professional coaching careers. Guardiola was leading Barcelona’s B team while Mazzulla was coaching the Celtics’ G-League team before their organizational promotions.

That, Mazzulla said, made him want to learn more about Guardiola’s rise to greatness.

“That’s when I really started to dive into Pep. Like, what’s the psychology of taking over such a high-level brand? What’s the psychology of building your coaching identity? How do you handle success right away?” he said. “And so it became a road map to how I want to go about building a culture, a team, and taking over greatness, so to speak.”

Mazzulla went into detail about the advice Guardiola gave him entering last year’s NBA Finals. He said he asked him various questions about achieving and managing success.

“I think when you’re on the path towards trying to go after something, it’s important to normalize greatness. So the biggest thing I wanted to take from him was like, ‘What’s it like before you win as a coach, as a leader?” Mazzulla said. “What’s it like after you win? What are the challenges that come with winning the first one?’ Because you’re not a winner until you win.

“I wanted to go back and say, ‘OK, what were you like before you won? What were you like in that space? Did you believe in yourself? Did you have doubts? Were you nervous? Were you worked up? What did you tell your team?’ … Like, ‘OK, if you’re going to do this for a long time, here’s what to expect, here’s how to adapt, and here’s how to look at it.’ Just amazing perspective from that standpoint.”