Few players love the Melbourne Christmas derby quite like Curtis Good.
There are also fewer players better placed to handle one of the most unenviable jobs in Australian football right now.
Good will go head-to-head with red-hot Melbourne Victory striker and his former City captain Bruno Fornaroli in Saturday night's A-League Men grudge match at AAMI Park, fresh off the 36-year-old's Socceroos recall.
The cool-headed central defender can't wait.
"Obviously Bruno was here for a bit and I've played against him a lot," Good told AAP.
"He was really good (at City). When I first joined the club he was captain at the time and I remember the senior boys being very welcoming to me.
"He's in stellar form at the moment.
"Everything he's touching at the moment turns to gold. It's one of those things where you have to be very wary of him."
Good played at the Heart from 2011-12, then had a six-year stint in England before joining City in 2018.
Saturday's match is 12 years to the day since an 18-year-old Good took to the field in his first Christmas derby, a dramatic 3-2 win.
"I came off the bench for a bit. But I remember being very, very nervous," Good, now 30, said.
"Matt Thompson scored the double and we won.
"I just remember, like, 'damn, this is insane. This is crazy - this kind of experience.' It was awesome.
"It's probably the biggest game of the year, not including finals, especially the Christmas derby.
"It's probably my earliest memory as a footballer - a big game and the build-up and the lead-up to it, you can feel the the energy when you're out on the field.
"There's something about the late kick off just before Christmas, always get massive crowds and the energy's massive. So I'm looking forward to it."
Good was right there just over a year ago when a pitch invasion forced the abandonment of last year's Christmas derby, but insists City have well and truly moved on.
"It was an experience. I mean, all the reflection was done probably prior to the replay of that game initially," he said.
"So we're in a situation now where a lot of the squad is very different. So it hasn't really been talked about at all. It's all been just, 'it's Melbourne Victory. It's a derby. Biggest game of the year.'
"It's one of those ones where if you can get a result going into Christmas you can just get a flow-on effect for the whole club and supporters and even your whole life.
"It being just before Christmas and that gives you that buzz. It's a very special three points to get."
