An Argentine, a Chilean, a Paraguayan and a Spaniard walk into a restaurant..
It sounds like the start of a joke but four old friends were reunited in Paraguay for the first time in 18 years last week. They just so happened to be former Newcastle United team-mates.
Marcelino, who is now a football agent, was on a business trip to South America and paid Club Olimpia sporting director Christian Bassedas a visit in Asuncion.
Bassedas and Marcelino have kept in touch over the years - the pair's families have even holidayed together in the past - but this was the first time they had seen each other in the flesh in nearly a decade.
The reunion did not end there.
Diego Gavilan is in charge of Cerro Porteno's under-23s - Miguel Almiron, incidentally, started his career with the Asuncion-based outfit - while Clarence Acuna works for the the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), whose headquarters are located near the Silvio Pettirossi International Airport.
It is a remarkable coincidence. Three former Newcastle players from three very different backgrounds have ended up working in one of South America's oldest cities.
While Gavilan, Bassedas and Acuna have naturally seen each other in the years since, this was the first time they had all physically caught up with Marcelino since their spell together on Tyneside.
Marcelino and fellow Spanish speaker Nolberto Solano helped the new arrivals settle in when they moved to Newcastle - and the club and city certainly left their mark on these exotic imports.
Bassedas still misses going to the pub with his Geordie neighbour Bruce; Acuna previously told ChronicleLive that he 'fell in love with Newcastle'; while Gavilan never forgot how Sir Bobby Robson 'was like a father' to him.
Many years have passed since the trio last shared a dressing room with Marcelino, in 2003, but the memories still felt so fresh as they reminisced over dinner last week.
"Aside from the player that people see on television or at St James' Park, there is the human being," Marcelino told ChronicleLive.
"We had a good group and I've met or kept a relationship with many of the guys and some of the English lads, too.
"We have a common link, which is Newcastle United, and some of us clicked as human beings. That is beautiful to say nearly 20 years later."
Of course, we are all feeling the effects of lockdown here in the North East but it is a different story in Paraguay, where a number of measures are not quite so strict at the moment.
Social events in public and private venues are allowed for up to four hours for a maximum of 100 people while social events in private homes can take place with up to 12 people.
It is also worth stressing that, because of the nature of their roles in football, Marcelino, Bassedas, Gavilan and Acuna have also been taking polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests every few days.
