The relationship between Sir Alex Ferguson and Patrice Evra is so close that friends label it "like father and son".
The sporting offspring playfully helps Ferguson with his French. The footballing father ensured he will manage every one of Evra's best years by pushing through the most lucrative contract Manchester United have ever granted a defender.
Ferguson sees himself in Evra - a belief that no United man should ever accept defeat, and a constant appetite for victory.
It is no coincidence that Ferguson and Evra have won eight major titles in six years together at Old Trafford.
Nor that they enter the final weeks of a campaign as favourites for a league and FA Cup double, and a home draw with Chelsea away from a Champions League semi-final.
They even talk in a similar fashion. When Evra escaped a penalty for cutting down Ramires in the final minutes of last week's first-leg defeat of Chelsea, Ferguson described the referee's decision as the "first break we have had here in seven years".
Ask Evra if he was lucky with his tackle and he refers you back to a spot kick that cost United a Premier League game last month.
"To the people who say that I will ask the question: 'Have Chelsea been lucky in the League when they got the penalty?'" Evra said.
"Many, many decisions we lost there and the decisions were suspect. The referee does his job, maybe Wednesday was lucky for us. But football is like that, the referee takes his responsibility.
"If you remember David Luiz in the League, how many times should he have been sent off? Maybe in the first 15 minutes. That's why people can talk a lot.
"We talked a lot when David Luiz was not sent off. Now they will talk a lot as well about the penalty. That is football."
The pleasure manager and left-back took in the 1-0 win last week was magnified by its rarity.
Evra credits the first Stamford Bridge victory of his career to "the spirit before the game. We said, 'Everyone, it doesn't matter if we play well or bad, we just want to win'.
"That was very important for the head because we always play well against Chelsea and we never win there."
He concedes that the Premier League his team lead by seven points with six games remaining has not seen the same quality of performance from United as in past seasons. Mentally, however, they have been stronger in the critical moments.
"It's because we have a lot of experience now," Evra said. "You know it's only [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Carlos] Tevez missing in this team, that's why I think we are very solid. I think the experience makes the difference.
"When you see a player like Ryan Giggs, running like they are 15 years old, that is the spirit of Man United. To keep winning, keep winning, keep winning. And when we have the back four, no one is injured, it is very difficult to beat Man United.
"I'll be honest with you, we are not talking about the treble; we are only talking that every game now is a final. And we know when you put on this shirt you have to respect that, you have to win. In the end if we have the treble I will be the most happy man in the world. It's not the target though. The target is to win, win and win."
