Mauricio Pochettino has always been good company - warm, engaging and likeable. Having had a few weeks to reset away from the spotlight, there were enthusiastic hugs all round for the Sky Sports News team as we all swapped summer stories. His, though, has been rather busier than ours.
The former Tottenham boss guided the USA team to the last 16 of the World Cup, where the host nation's dreams of victory came to a crashing halt against Belgium, but that barely tells the story of an extraordinary few weeks for the Argentine. There was Donald Trump - there was always going to be - and the changing-room team talk. There was Trump, FIFA and Folarin Balogun's suspension of his suspension, and along the way, Pochettino became something of a fashion icon.
Then a few weeks later, another significant headline - Pochettino had, a little surprisingly perhaps, signed for four more years with the USA. I smile before jesting, and Pochettino just laughs and says he's ready. His reflections on the World Cup seem like as good a place to get going.
For Pochettino, the biggest takeaway is how much he and his coaching staff, including his long-term lieutenant Jesus Perez, have learned. "We are much better coaches now," he insists. It is revealing because the World Cup has reinforced his appetite to keep learning and evolving.
He talks about the importance of the smallest details, the difficulty of getting every decision right and the challenge of translating his ideas to a group of players who spend far less time together than a club side. He adds, "Everything needs to be perfect." There were times during the tournament when life must have felt a little wild, I suggest. There's managing at the World Cup, then there's managing at a home World Cup for a nation whose President rather enjoys the spotlight.
Unsurprisingly, Pochettino chooses his words carefully, focusing on the support and backing Trump gave the side. At the time, he was asked about his role in getting the Balogun suspension suspended, and he admitted the "politics and manipulation" did overshadow the game against Belgium. Pochettino understood the anger around the situation, but his role was much simpler - "If you pay attention to the noise, you become crazy." FIFA allowed Balogun to play and he says, "When the letter arrived the day before the game confirming Balogun was available, the decision was straightforward." Balogun has been in the headlines again over the past few weeks after his proposed move from Monaco to Everton collapsed late on Deadline Day.
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