Eight years ago Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel sat down in an iconic Munich bar to share ideas about football. At the time Guardiola was the world's master coach and Tuchel an apprentice about to embark on his first really big job.
Ever since there has been a significant degree of respect between the pair, despite the flood of water that has passed under the bridge, and the latest chapter will be written in Manchester and Munich over the next week and a bit.
On Monday lunchtime Guardiola suggested Tuchel could be the best coach in the world. A few hours later Tuchel sat inside the Etihad, having just had a look at the pitch and the stands ahead of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg, and reflected on that first meeting between the pair in 2015.
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"Michael Reschke organised the meeting, I was very grateful and as a coach I was not a big name and not known. I am definitely very grateful for Pep sharing his thoughts with me. He has helped me how to see football. It’s not taken for granted," the 48-year-old said.
"Michael Reschke knew how much I’d tried to understand Barcelona’s football. It was a great opportunity for me that meeting, I’m very grateful to Pep for sharing his thoughts and ideas with me, he’s helped me to understand how he sees football. It’s helped me."
But before this turned into a paean into Guardiola's brilliance, Tuchel turned back. "Don't draw the conclusion I'm a fanboy or anything like that," he added.
He did, however, say Manchester City were the "gold standard" his side are aspiring to reach. City have proved that domestically, but know they need to do so in Europe in a competition that continues to haunt them.
To make matters worse, there are ghosts lurking everywhere in this Bayern Munich setup. City don't need to look too hard or too far to risk getting spooked.
Tuchel's appointment in Bavaria during the international break would have concerned Guardiola. Tuchel might only have won three of the pair's 10 meetings, but they all feel significant and all three came in five games against City.
The most notable of those came in Porto in May 2021, when Tuchel's Chelsea denied Guardiola that elusive Champions League triumph. Chelsea also won the FA Cup semi-final meeting between the two teams that season.
One German reporter asked Tuchel in his pre-match press conference about Guardiola's Champions League trait of overthinking teams and tactics, of his ability to surprise his own team. Tuchel played that possibility down, but when he revealed he had been unable to sleep on Sunday night as he thought about the gameplan, it might have had the bonus of getting into Guardiola's mind as well, the uncertainty of what Tuchel cooked up in the early hours at Saebener Strasse now the great unknown.
“I will try and go to bed early [on Monday] - I just hope I can sleep," he said. "It’s hard to get that sleep and this morning I woke really early and I just went to the training ground because I just kept thinking about the game."
Tuchel did insist he couldn't take anything from his previous meetings against City and wouldn't be saying one word about that 2021 Champions League final to his new players.
But if Tuchel knows Guardiola's City well, then Joao Cancelo knows them even better. Three months ago he was still a City player. In two months he might be a City player again.
Cancelo and Guardiola parted on bad terms in January, with the Portuguese furious at his lack of playing opportunities after the World Cup. City risked leaving themselves light by sanctioning Cancelo's departure, but removing his body language from the group carried a bigger positive weight for Guardiola.
The 28-year-old has had his sulk on in Munich as well, starting just eight of 13 games, but he has been restored to the starting line-up for two of Tuchel's three games in charge. UEFA rules mean Cancelo will be available to Bayern for both legs. City fans used to things going wrong in this competition might be expecting Cancelo to have an impact at the Etihad.
"These situations exist, I hope he can manage his emotions and he’s not over-motivated or overexcited, but also not too friendly or too shy, hopefully he can manage his emotions to be ready. I know he’s looking forward to it," said Tuchel.
Asked about the chances of making the move permanent in the summer, Tuchel added: "I cannot give you any serious answer to that because we have not discussed it with the club. I don’t even know the conditions from the contract.
"At the moment I’m just happy he’s my player because I’ve played many times against him and very aware of his extraordinary qualities."
Matthijs de Ligt was alongside Tuchel at the Etihad on Monday night for Bayern's press conference and admitted he hadn't expected Cancelo to join him in Munich in January.
"To us it was a little bit of a surprise for us that a player of his calibre and quality made this move to us," he said.
De Ligt was pursued by Guardiola and City in 2019, but when he departed Ajax he opted for Juventus, before a move to Munich last summer.
Four years ago the 23-year-old was considered the world's best young centre-back, a tag he might still hold. Over the next eight days he will be tasked with stopping the world's best striker, of any age. Erling Haaland now has 44 goals for City and although he lost all seven games against Bayern Munich while with Borussia Dortmund, he did score five goals.
When Tuchel was asked about stopping him, he talked of a conversation with Johan Cruyff about a striker Barcelona couldn't stop, until they stopped marking him and the player in question stopped scoring. He insists Bayern won't be trying that tonight.
De Ligt will go through the video of Haaland, a player he has never played against before, but knows he is not the only threat that needs to be stopped.
"I think this game is going to be complicated. He is very good in the box and outside," he said.
"What matters is that we organised the defence very well and the midfield. Haaland is incredible but without good crossses or passes from Kevin De Bruyne it will be harder for him. I think our entire team needs to be in top shape and form to stop someone like Haaland."
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