As Manchester City conclude their preparations for the new season, Flashscore spoke to their manager Pep Guardiola ahead of Saturday night's pre-season match against Palermo on the island of Sicily.
Guardiola presented himself to journalists with his usual mix of lucidity and irony, talking about football but also about emotions and old acquaintances.
"Tomorrow will be a friendly that will be great for Pippo (Palermo manager Filippo Inzaghi), and also for us," he began. "It is the last friendly we have. We have the City Football Group, a relationship that is now a bit closer than in the past."
"Personally, coming to Italy is always a joy, but to really get to know the reality of Palermo and Sicily you have to live there or come here on holiday.
"Tomorrow morning we'll be in the hotel, maybe we'll go out to do something, but then in the afternoon we'll prepare for the match. We'll spend the evening here for dinner, always an opportunity to eat well, and then on Sunday we'll return to England."
The Catalan coach then reflected on the status his club has achieved: "We deserve it, I am sorry to say. We had an amazing, wonderful decade.
"We have won and come back to win, and that is why we keep working. If we didn't, the coach would have changed and the players as well. So we have come a long way and we are ready for the new season."
"As a coach he has already done good things"
It's impossible not to talk about Inzaghi, his opponent on the pitch in his time as a player: "He was clever in the box: he had the sense of where the ball was going to go... The great strikers are those who guess where the ball is going to go, because if you go there a second later, you won't get there. He had this incredible sense for goal.
"As a coach he has already done good things. His career is still young, so I certainly wish him the best."
A passage also on Kevin De Bruyne, who moved to Napoli in the summer: "A bit strange, I must say. But all of us, the whole City family, we love him very much.
"We wish him that this experience in Italy, in this country, with a very strong coach, one of the best ever, can be positive. I'm sure he will learn a lot and do good things. I hope that he, Michelle and his children will have a great time here in Italy, especially in Naples."
Finally, a look at the atmosphere awaiting him at the 'Barbera' and a thought for Inzaghi's birthday: 'Yes, I know. We'll do something, for sure. I can't wait to see the fans.
"I know that the south is special. I hope they can have a good season and go all the way with the dream - which Palermo certainly has - and which City Football Group has: to be in Serie A next year."