For Luke Keating, there was no doubt that Mick Fitzsimons would come back this year in an attempt to win a record ninth Celtic Cross.
The pair had grown up together in Cuala, the prolific Keating playing a year above his age grade.
Together, he and Fitzsimons won minor and under-21 titles before becoming seniors and, almost 20 years since first playing together, they remain vital to the Cuala cause.
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Now 33, Fitzsimons has amassed eight All-Ireland winners medals with the Dubs to go with 12 Leinster titles, five Leagues and, on a personal level, three AllStars since his 2010 intercounty debut.
The Killiney man has seen so many of his team-mates fall away from the demands of inter-county in recent years.
He chose to stay on, even after last year's All-Ireland semi-final loss to Mayo.
Now only Fitzsimons and James McCarthy remain from the breakthrough Dublin team that lifted the Sam Maguire.
If Dublin see off Cork this evening, Kerry or Mayo will stand in the way of another All-Ireland final appearance.
"That's a good example of Fitzy's character," said Keating. "He's a very determined individual.
"I don't think winning or losing either way would really impact his decision to keep playing or pack it in.
"But once they lost that game I would have thought it would have been hard for him to leave.
"Given the kind of character that he is, he wanted to at least try to give it another go. He's level headed enough to decide on his future without being influenced by results."
Fitzsimons is driven, on and off the pitch. Off it, he was a qualified physiotherapist before going back to study medicine and becoming a doctor during the pandemic.
On it, he had to be resilient to become one of Dublin's most decorated players of all time.
The story goes that Fitzsimons wasn't first choice for Cuala in his first year at minor and played for the club's 'B' team.
"It's something we like to say to him," smiled Keating.
"But really it's a story that has grown legs because at that age, it's two teams coming together because of numbers and he was never a solidified 'B' team player.
"At that time he wasn't a corner back per se, he didn't have a defined position.
"Eventually he fell into the backline because we needed a defender and he was outstanding in a game and he got another chance there, and suddenly we were looking at our best defender.
"His commitment to the club over the years has been beyond belief. If he's not playing, he still turns up to every game he can.
"When he finishes up with Dublin, he will be our main driver. It's not just his ability but his determination to achieve something with the club.
"His commitment is enormous. We look up to him."
Nevertheless that struggle was an early example of how Fitzsimons had to fight to get to the top.
Remarkably, he never played for Dublin at underage level - and didn't even make a squad.
Even as late as under-21 level he wasn't picked in two trials but, along with Jonny Cooper, Denis Bastick and Darren Daly, he made his mark in Mick Deegan's Junior All-Ireland winning side of 2008.
When Pat Gilroy came looking for new blood in the wake of the 'startled earwigs', Fitzsimons was high on his list. He seized the opportunity and was in the Dublin team that broke the mould in 2011.
But when Jim Gavin succeeded Gilroy, Fitzsimons found himself sidelined for a time before fully earning the new manager's trust.
"It's absolutely incredible," said Keating, reflecting on how his friend's career unfolded next.
"I remember that year when he won the Junior All-Ireland, then when he made his first Dublin start and as a friend you couldn't believe it, and then came that first senior All-Ireland.
"He was marking Colm Cooper who got a goal that day, but watch the game back and you'll see that Fitzy was outstanding.
"To perform at that level in that arena, you don't expect your friend to go to that level and then to back it up, but it's magic, really, what Fitzy has done.
"It hasn't all been plain sailing, he was out of the team in certain years but it shows his character even more that he didn't throw his toys out of the pram and kept fighting.
"He has a lot of belief in himself and is a confident person, though the reason I'm on the phone to you and not him is that he's very conscious of the line between confidence and arrogance.
"He's down to earth in that way, he's not a superstar - he's been very happy to be in the backfield and not the spotlight. He just plays the game and helps the team."
Fitzsimons is versatile and is comfortable stepping out of the Dubs' defence. In 2012, he played wing-forward in Cuala's intermediate title triumph.
However he is mostly lauded for his man-making ability.
Keating understood when his friend finally stopped marking him at training - when the emergence of Con O'Callaghan presented Fitzsimons with the new challenge that he was eager to embrace.
And it helps explain why he has stayed so relevant to Dublin's cause after 13 years.
"He wants to be constantly challenged," explained Keating, who also believes Fitzmaurice's attention to detail is forensic.
"He'll look to pick up the best forward in training and, unfortunately, since Con arrived on the scene he's started picking him up more than me!
"It's OK, I wasn't offended, Fitzy did it to challenge himself!
"Defending is his main passion, he is willing to go one on one against the game's best players and take that chance.
"You look at how he performed in his debut season with Dublin, how football was played then and is played now, and he's one of those players who has stayed in the same position all the time.
"Despite the changes in defence and attack in the game, he has stayed on top of it when many others have been moved around to facilitate different systems.
"He has maintained his strengths and retained a keen interest in the changes that happen in the game."
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