In 2010, Rob Friend played against Thomas Müller in a Bundesliga match during the German forward's breakout season for Bayern Munich - 15 years later their paths cross again in Wednesday night's Canadian Championship final.
Later that year, Müller won the Golden Boot as the top goalscorer at the World Cup in South Africa. Now, a year before the world's biggest sporting event arrives in Vancouver he will line up for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Voyageurs Cup decider against Vancouver FC, the Canadian Premier League club co-owned by B.C. native, Friend.
"This is such an exciting time for soccer in the Lower Mainland," explains the former striker who played in the MLS, German Bundesliga and Dutch Eredivisie over a 10-year career.
"Having two teams from Vancouver contest the final of the biggest soccer tournament in Canada, with one of them representing our own national league full of young, talented, local players.
"Then to have the other team having one of the most successful players ever in their squad - I played against him in Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach and we drew 1-1.
"He was only 20 at the time and made his debut for Germany a few months later. It was clear even then what a quality player he is and his career has been one success after another - so it's great to have him in Vancouver now and playing in this final in BC Place.
"Also with World Cup tickets having gone on sale just a few weeks ago - it makes this a really important moment, and opportunity for Canadian soccer."
When Friend was 17 his dream of a professional soccer career brought him to England on trial, then to university in the U.S., while his first contract was with Norwegian club Moss of Tippeligaen.
"Before 2019 we were the only developed soccer nation without our own domestic top-tier league. Having one was a key condition for Canada co-hosting the World Cup. But the main goal for the CPL was that young players wouldn't have to do what my generation had to, that there would be a pathway from grassroots and university soccer into the pro game all within Canada. It’s about giving young talent a chance to experience the professional level and grow into senior national team players for future World Cups.
"Reaching this final is a reflection of the young talent that we have in the club, the league and the Lower Mainland."
Interim Vancouver FC head coach Martin Nash, also a former Canada senior men's international, was another player who had to take the scenic route to a pro career from a young age.
"As a 17 year-old I left Vancouver and spent six weeks at Tottenham Hotspur and even played in a first team friendly," explains Nash who in the late 1990s, spent time in England playing with Stockport County and Chester City, before returning to Canada. "Then I went on to another London club, Watford and it didn't work out there either. I then went to Southend and was close to signing but it didn't happen and I went home.
"A year later after three weeks of trials with Stockport County I finally was able to catch on. So they took their time to make decisions and if you wanted a career back then you had to really want it and be willing to sacrifice. But for me it was worth it. Now with Vancouver FC and the CPL there are so many more opportunities if the players really want it."
Vancouver FC midfielder Emrick Fotsing played with the Canada Under-18s in Finland last month, while Kevin Podgorni received a call-up to the Canada's U-17s in May, just months after signing his first pro contract.
Maple Ridge, B.C. native T.J. Tahid went from open trials to becoming the league’s youngest-ever goal scorer, to last month securing a transfer to Europe, following in the footsteps of Grady McDonnell who signed for top Belgian club Club Brugge, and James Cameron who was sold to the Colorado Rapids.
Another young talented player making his mark in this Cup run is Thierno Maadiou Bah - the 21 year-old was included in a provisional Canada U-20 roster in 2022.
"The CPL’s U21 minutes rule means each club has to play Canadian players aged 21 or younger for at least 2,000 minutes per season, promoting youth development," he explains. "So for players like myself - the club and league has helped me so much to develop my game. The biggest thing for me is that I've been able to make mistakes, and to learn from them within a professional environment. So I'll be forever grateful for this league and for Vancouver FC and I'm excited to reflect the quality and ambition of the league with a big performance in this final."
Vancouver FC are in their third season, and while sharing a name with local rivals the Whitecaps, Friend explains that's where the similarities end.
"While we compete in the CPL, the Whitecaps are a franchise in the MLS, the highest level of the North American soccer league structure. I won the MLS Cup with LA Galaxy in 2014 so I know that league well and the Whitecaps are an important franchise for the city providing some excellent entertainment that we all appreciate.
"Vancouver FC plays in a domestic Canadian ecosystem - we're undertaking an ambitious effort to build a sustainable soccer culture, which creates real opportunities for the next generation. Whether that's fans, coaches, players, club staff."
Müller, only a few months into life in Vancouver, was asked about Vancouver FC's underdog run to the final, and the build-up to Wednesday's showdown.
The most prominent derby in Munich is the Münchner Derby - between Müller's former club Bayern Munich and another of Friend's former teams, TSV 1860 Munich. However the two clubs now play less frequently due to the latter's drop to lower divisions.
"I think it's more about the whole system here," says Müller, "which is getting better and better. It's nice to be part of a development, part of an upslope, and it's a nice story.
"For the Vancouver derby - I wish it would be a little bit more important for the city," he told reporters in the pre-match press conference.
"After feeling the Vancouver people, they accept not winning and I'm not used to that and I want to change that a little bit and for people to care a little bit more."
When Martin Nash won the Gold Cup with Canada in 2000, nine of the 18 players in the squad were from BC - "why not again?" he asks. "When I was playing we had a national team full of players from BC and Vancouver.
"There is so much to get behind with the young players in our squad now and for anyone involved or following the sport - it's such an exciting time. The next generation getting to see the country's top level of our game in our city, and with the World Cup next year that will be the best in the world. It is going to be unbelievable."