Sydney FC midfielder Anthony Caceres is a man that wears his Uruguayan heritage like a badge of honour.
So it's no surprise when PSG played a friendly against Sydney FC in 2019, he went straight for Uruguayan legend Edinson Cavani.
From that simple interaction, he's the proud owner of the former PSG and Man United talisman's shirt – but that's not all he earned.
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"That's a prized possession of mine, Cavani obviously being extremely successful for Uruguay and at club level, I didn't hesitate when the opportunity came around to ask him for his shirt when we played against PSG and that's definitely one I keep safe," Caceres told Wide World of Sports.
"Funny enough we follow each other on Instagram, and he likes my photos every now and then so he hasn't forgotten about me which is pretty cool.
"When I met him he was an extremely nice person, and obviously as a professional he's had great success.
"We got to chatting a fair bit after the game then when he gave me his shirt I just ended up tagging him in a post and he ended up following me."
When it comes to mid-January, Caceres will be front and centre with a number of other players in the A Leagues for the competition's Unite Round.
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The inaugural event will bring all teams together for 12 matches across three days in Sydney.
To acknowledge the round's first day on January 12, a community multicultural celebration lap will be held at CommBank Stadium where Macarthur FC and Western United FC will play each other in the first game, followed by Melbourne City vs Western Sydney Wanderers.
The Sydney FC veteran sees plenty of merit in the initiative.
"I think it's a good incentive to invite people to the games, I feel that football is a game that unites people of all backgrounds, regardless of where you're from and so it's a great way to advertise the game in this country and involve people that may not have been exposed to our league in the past," he said.
"So I think it's a great coming together of different nationalities for the world game."
Caceres' progression to the game of football was one similar to some of the greatest to ever play in Australia.
With a Uruguayan background, the midfielder admits there was no other choice than playing football from a young age.
"From a very early age my old man passed on his passion of the game to me," he said.
"I've followed a club in Uruguay my whole life – Nacional – and they're still the club I follow to this day.
"Football in Uruguay gives you an identity and I've shown that was no different with myself.
"From a very young age I adopted the passion that my family has passed on and to this day it's something that's a massive part of our family.
"The relationship between me and my father is certainly based around the game and we all enjoy watching and playing football."
Caceres' development came through one of the most famous clubs in Australia – Marconi.
The Stallions have famous Socceroos alumni including Harry Kewell, Mark Schwarzer, Mathew Ryan, Paul Okon and Frank Farina. Throw in prolific Italian goalscorer Christian Vieri and it's an impressive production line.
His father played for the club at a young age, and while that wasn't the reason he ended up with The Stallions, it seems he was destined to end up there.
"It just worked out that way, Marconi always had a big presence in our area growing up, I'm from south-west Sydney and I guess as a youngster I always wanted to play there," he said.
"And it was no different when my old man was playing, they were still the biggest club around so it's great we passed through the same club at different points. He still has his old jerseys and I still have mine so hopefully we can pass them on to the next generation and we'll see if my kids end up playing with Marconi also."
In 2025, Marconi will take its next step up when the club is part of the inaugural National Second Division.
The Bossley Park-based side will be one of the foundation sides for the competition and Caceres believes it'll showcase the talent that's unseen in the lower leagues.
"I think it's great, those clubs have so much to offer, they have a rich history in Australian football as well as a lot of players coming through who may not have the opportunity to showcase what they have in the A League so I think it will be a good stage for them to showcase what they're about," he said.
"We've seen in the FFA Cup that many of those clubs are capable of competing at a high level and I think that can only add to the development of football in this country."
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