He may not be a man who everybody would know but Michael Reschke is a man who knows everybody.
Reschke is the revered former technical director of Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart and Schalke who this week was appointed head of European football with ICMStellar, arguably the biggest agency in football.
At 63, some would consider it a bit late for a career change but Reschke is looking at the bigger picture, making the most of his contacts. He is relaxed, talking about the time he went for dinner with Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel.
The story goes that Guardiola had recommended to Reschke that Tuchel should succeed him when he was leaving Bayern for Manchester City.
'It wasn't quite like that,' says Reschke. 'I was at Bayern with Pep and I told him I was going out for dinner with Thomas and he said ''ah, I like him, I'd love to come''. So he joined us. We had a fantastic evening together talking football and strategy.
'Pep always said that he loved facing Tuchel teams because they challenged his intelligence. Tuchel was on his sabbatical year at the time. He had done well with Mainz and Pep respected Tuchel hugely as he is a coach that is clever and makes you think. Pep loves that, the mental challenge.
'Anyway, as it turned out, by the time Pep was ready to leave Bayern, Tuchel had been appointed by Dortmund but he is certainly a coach that Pep admires. There are similarities in terms of their preparation because they are coaches who give clear solutions to players around the pitch. Tuchel and Zsolt Low, his assistant, will be a success at Chelsea I'm sure.'
Reschke's admiration for Guardiola is evident. The two hit it off from the start at Bayern when Reschke made it his mission to understand what talent would fit Guardiola's ethos.
'I was fascinated by Pep,' says Reschke. 'When I signed, we went for lunch and spent four or five hours talking. It was our first conversation.
'I realised, to do my role of identifying the type of player he needed, I asked if I could follow his preparation.
'Bayern were playing Roma in the Champions League and he said ''sure, I'm going to Turin to watch Juventus against Roma, come with me''.
'On the plane he told me how he thought the game would go and it played out exactly as he said. Then he allowed me in to our team meetings and he gave the players scenarios of what would happen. It wasn't ''you will do this or that'', he suggested ideas respectfully so they had ready-made solutions. Bayern beat Roma 7-1, in Rome.
'I recently watched a movie about Leonard Bernstein where he conducted the musical West Side Story,' says Reschke.
'The empathy and intensity, as well as his incredible focus on detail when interacting with the ensemble reminded me of my time at Bayern Munich with Pep. He is a truly remarkable coach who is trusted by his team and players completely. He makes teams better.'
The friendship prevailed. Reschke was a regular visitor to Manchester pre-Covid, where the two continued to chew the proverbial fat over dinner and football. Indeed, at one stage it was speculated a job would be found for Reschke at City. 'Pep has fantastic staff at City,' Reschke deflects. 'He has Txiki Begiristain on his side and in that fantastic partnership you don't need anyone else.'
It's understandable though why football agencies are keen to utilise his expertise. After all, the bond with Guardiola is far from his only special relationship with an elite Premier League coach. Bayern's next appointment was Carlo Ancelotti. 'Carlo has an aura about him, one of respect, the Italians call him ''Mister''. When Carlo holds a glass of wine, you want to hold it in the same way,' laughs Reschke. 'He's a man of his word, a classy gentleman.'
Such relationships are born out of a colourful 41-year career, albeit one sparked when, as a 15-year-old, he reluctantly agreed to coach at his unfashionable village side Viktoria Frechen.
His role with ICMStellar is not quite poacher turned gamekeeper, more a shared vision that agents can no longer just be 'wheeler dealers' but long-term planners.
The Premier League spent over £263million on agents' fees last season and, in a depressing financial climate, the image perpetuated of them is one of greed. Characters not always welcomed by wary technical directors perhaps.
'Like in any business, buying a house or hiring an actor, agents are part of the game now,' says Reschke. 'Outside, the public see one man being paid for a £30million deal so they paint a picture but they don't see what has gone on for many years before then.
'Agents can be responsible for helping a club buy or sell at the right price, they have worked with the player from a young age, employing people to help the family, taking care of a player's private and personal life. A big transfer can be the completion of many years' work.'
The demands on agents are also greater from players' families.
'As a technical director, it was about planning for the future for your club and I am using my contacts now to apply that logic to my work with Stellar,' says Reschke. 'We have seen a big talent drain from England to Germany. It's not enough to train at a young age you need to play minutes to develop and young players recognise that now.'
In his time in Germany, Reschke was responsible for plotting such pathways for players or Konigsweg as it is known there, the King's Way.
'When I was at Leverkusen I could see that Toni Kroos was not getting enough experience in Bayern Munich's reserves. So I took him on loan for 18 months. He struggled at first but then made excellent progress under Jupp Heynckes who was very good at developing players.
'I did the same when Dani Carvajal was in Real Madrid reserves. If he hadn't come to Leverkusen I don't think he would have matured into the Real Madrid regular he became.
'At ICMStellar we have to work with the clubs to recognise where a young player's path should lead to benefit everyone.'
With names such as Aston Villa's Jack Grealish, Ibrahima Konate of RB Leipzig and exciting young Rennes midfielder Eduardo Camavinga on their extensive roster, it promises to be an eventful summer.
Would-be suitors such as Manchester United have already urged caution at supporters expecting big fees to be paid following the pandemic.
'I don't want to speculate,' says Reschke, 'but for the top players, who can decide games, there will always be a demand. The upcoming summer transfer window will be a challenging one no doubt about it. I'm totally convinced that we'll meet these challenges as we are a strong very well-connected organisation. We will find smart and intelligent solutions for our players and the involved clubs.
'In life we can cry or we can work it out and it's definitely better to work it out.'