There will be a warm embrace when Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira reunites with Manchester City managing director Brian Marwood on Saturday.
The pair have a strong relationship going back to the early years of Sheikh Mansour's takeover when they were a major part of the transformation of the club.
On Vieira's first return with another side, he can take a look around the environs of the Etihad Stadium and feel proud of his contribution.
It was in 2010, in the final years of his playing career, that he moved to City to bring a winning mentality. He would play his part in altering the aspirations of the academy's young players before making an impact in the early days of sister club New York City FC.
Vieira, meanwhile, is grateful for his time in Manchester and credits Marwood for persuading him into a coaching career after initially refusing it as an option after retiring from playing.
A leader going back to his days at the centre of midfield for Arsenal and World Cup winners France, Marwood recognised the cool and thoughtful intelligence that suggested Vieira could be a success in management.
Roberto Mancini had worked with him at Inter, where Vieira won three Serie A titles, and brought him to the Etihad to help turn the club into winners.
His on-field powers were waning but his influence in the dressing room was huge; his last-ever appearance was as a 90th-minute substitute in the 2011 FA Cup victory over Stoke City, which ended City's 35-year wait for silverware.
As a father figure and calming influence, Vieira helped unite a potentially volatile squad that included big characters such as Mario Balotelli, Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy.
“Patrick is one of the people I listen to most here in Manchester,” Balotelli said at the time. “But I don’t even listen to my parents sometimes.”
Vieira made it his special mission to nurture the Italian and Balotelli's time at the Etihad was probably the best of his career because of it. But he finally ran out of patience eight years later when they were together at Nice and Balotelli's individuality and behaviour became too much.
While the striker has struggled to grow up, Vieira has matured as a coach and there has been an excitement at Selhurst Park since he took over in the summer. Palace may have won only once in the Premier League, but the Frenchman is changing their playing style whilst bringing down the age of the squad.
He did the same at NYCFC, where his side played some of the most attractive soccer in MLS at the time. Joining the club in only their second season of existence after a disappointing debut campaign, Vieira improved them quickly.
NYCFC reached the play-offs in both his full seasons as he brought together the experience of players like Andrea Pirlo and David Villa while developing future talents such as Jack Harrison and Yangel Herrera.
"He has a humility to listen and learn and reflect after every game and the decisions that he made," former NYCFC director of football operations Claudio Reyna told Goal after his departure.
"That’s why you could see him just getting better and better. With experience and time he’s only gotten better managing situations and the day-to-day of a football club."
Vieira was seen as a potential future manager at City but with the appointment of their dream choice Pep Guardiola in the summer of 2016, a return would be a long way down the road.
While his time in MLS wasn't perfect and he didn't land any silverware, it was no surprise that he would get offers from Europe. He moved to Nice in 2018, although he was sacked two-and-a-half years later after a poor run of five defeats.
Now he returns to Manchester plotting City's downfall but can take credit for his part in creating some of their off-field success, not least in the club's academy.
Vieira had just finishing his playing days and was working as the football development executive when the club announced their plans for the state-of-the-art Etihad Campus, which remains one of the world's leading training bases.
In 2011, England manager Fabio Capello had a relatively small pool of players to select from with a concern among many that homegrown youngsters were being squeezed out of the game. Vieira had different ideas.
He bought into the idea that young English players needed to be challenged to be better than their overseas counterparts being brought in with the tools of better facilities and a good education. City and Chelsea have led the way in youth development in recent years, with European clubs now wanting to take their players.
The Etihad Campus was opened in 2014, by which time Vieira had taken over as coach of the Elite Development Squad. He believed that youngsters working close to the first team and spending some time training with them would further increase their hunger.
"They can watch them train, they can see it, they can smell it and they can see they need to have it," Vieira said.
He moved to New York before the advantages of the academy really kicked in, although players such as Angelino, Jason Denayer and Rony Lopes have gone on to have good careers elsewhere. Many of those that worked under him praised his patience and attention to detail, helping them to progress as individuals as well as footballers.
On Saturday he will come up against Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, who have really benefited from the building of the campus after spending their younger years learning there and continuing their progression.
Those players have walked through the same entrance for the last decade but now turn left to join the first team rather than right for the EDS squad.
Vieira will get a warm reception from fans for the second successive away trip following his visit to the Emirates a fortnight ago. He will be welcomed back just the same away from the pitch.
