As the official Germany team photo for the World Cup was being taken, Joshua Kimmich gave Manuel Neuer a hearty slap on the back of his shoulders.
"He's got some nerve," Nathaniel Brown and Assan Ouedraogo must have thought.
For the young World Cup rookies on the national team, Germany's legendary goalkeeper is something of a super-hero as he prepares to make his international comeback in the World Cup opener against Curaçao on Sunday.
The respect that top strikers like England's Harry Kane or France's Kylian Mbappé will have for Neuer in crucial knock-out matches, as outlined in coach Julian Nagelsmann's World Cup strategy, is also evident among his own team-mates.
You don't just strike up a conversation with him, said the otherwise far-from-shy Ouedrago, recalling his first encounter with the "best goalkeeper of all time" at the team hotel in North Carolina.
But there's nothing to worry about. Of course, everyone knows that Neuer is a friendly guy, as long as there aren't any forwards from opposing teams in front of his goal.
"I think that after the first conversation, at the latest, everyone knows there's no need to be afraid of him," defender Jonathan Tah said.
Everyone is talking about his aura
"He inspires a sense of almost reverence. Back in the day, we used to sit on the couch and watch World Cup games with Neuer in goal," Tah recalled.
"Aura" is the buzzword on everyone's lips when discussing Neuer ahead of his fifth World Cup and his 125th international match.
Nagelsmann, sporting director Rudi Völler, captain Kimmich, and even Tah, who plays directly in front of Neuer in the Bayern Munich defence, all spoke of this special spirit that surrounds the 40-year-old on his much-discussed World Cup return. He's untouchable given his lifetime achievements.
"Manuel Neuer is, in a way, something extraordinary," former Germany coach Joachim Löw told RTL.
Löw led Germany to their most recent World Cup title in 2014, with Neuer as his number one.
Forward Kai Havertz, meanwhile, joked that if Neuer is 70 years old "and still wants to play for the national team, he'll still get a spot here."
And Neuer himself? He's focused ahead of his big comeback, which, after all the commotion surrounding his nomination and Oliver Baumann's demotion, now seems like a foregone conclusion.
Away from the spotlight, Neuer is relaxed. He smiles a lot and has kind words for all the fans.
He missed the tune-up matches against Finland and the United States due to a calf injury, but the master plan is now coming together ahead of the match against Curaçao.
As has so often been the case in Neuer's career, he's fit just in time for the start of the tournament. That was the case before the 2014 World Cup triumph. And it was the same before the disastrous tournaments in 2018 and 2022, and also before the 2024 European Championship on home soil.
Records and numbers
With his upcoming fifth World Cup appearance, Neuer has tied Lothar Matthäus' German record.
On Sunday, he will equal Frenchman Hugo Lloris' record for most World Cup appearances by a goalkeeper with his 20th match, and six days later, against Ivory Coast, he can set a new milestone with his 21st match.
Should Germany reach the quarter-finals, he will tie Matthäus (25 games) as the Germany's all-time leader in World Cup appearances.
And here's a bold prediction: If Germany wins the World Cup, Neuer would be the first German football player to achieve this feat twice.
Only the great Franz Beckenbauer has held the golden trophy twice. However, he did it first as a player in 1974 and then as a coach in 1990.
