Just a few minutes in the company of Norwich City assistant Narcis Pelach is enough for his infectious and near-obsessive love of football and coaching to come through.
At just 35, Pelach's fascinating and rapid career trajectory has brought him to Norfolk after departing Huddersfield Town in the summer.
His love affair with football began as a four-year-old when he was drafted into the academy of his hometown club Girona. After a playing career in the lower divisions in Spain, Pelach quickly turned his attentions to coaching.
At 26, he managed Catalonian-based side UE Figueres - he was the youngster head coach in Spain at the time. Then, he returned to Girona and became an assistant to Juan Carlos Unzue, who worked alongside Pep Guardiola during his period of incredible success at Barcelona.
Pelach's career is defined by mutual connections. Unzue opened the door to a week of observation at Manchester City to study Guardiola's work, that then created a chance for him to head to Leeds United to observe Marcelo Bielsa in action, and meet Carlos Corberan.
Norwich is the anomaly - the opportunity at Carrow Road wasn't born from pre-existing connections but through his body of work and recommendations.
During the early weeks of his time at Norwich, Pelach has earned a reputation for being studious, meticulous and an excellent problem solver. He is a popular figure with players and support staff - all of whom rate him incredibly highly.
He can often be seen in the analyst rooms at Colney or finding training sessions from yesteryear that could be used to progress Norwich's own game. Wagner recently described him as the 'missing piece' to his backroom staff. That almost obsessive personality has helped change the atmosphere.
The players at Colney are also enjoying his video analysis sessions and tactical work. Each coach is given responsibility for one unit of the side by Wagner - Pelach oversees their defensive work primarily.
Underpinning everything is Pelach's hunger and work ethic. That is a core value that has defined his career to date - whether it is a 10-year-old training session he is recycling or intense analysis sessions with players on plane journeys.
"When you are in this type of role - you finish the week watching a minimum of six games - because you have to watch four or five of every opponent.
"Then you always watch your own game, and if you have energy, then you want to know what Man City or Liverpool are doing. What are Brighton doing? You want to keep updated because maybe there are things to take," Pelach explained.
"At the end of the season, it adds up that you watch a lot. But there is no space in professional football if you don't work that way because someone is coming and they will beat you.
"It is the same with players. If you have momentum for one or two years and then take a break, then you're out because someone is coming to replace you in the team. It is the same with coaches as well.
"I feel that there is just one way to live in this profession if you want to be the best version of yourself.
"You suffer at times, and you lose things when you focus on just one thing. As well, life is about choosing and to have everything is impossible, so you need to make your choices. In our staff, everyone works really hard and that benefits the team.
"This is the only way to increase the probability to win."
After a run of one win in 11 at the end of last season and bad feelings around the club intensifying - Wagner, Stuart Webber, and other technical staff sought to implement changes.
Among them was adding a host of new additions and churning the squad, but recruiting Pelach to support Wagner was a crucial pillar of their approach to evolve and improve. During reflections, all parties agreed a fresh voice and outlook in his coaching team would be beneficial.
The pair have struck a positive relationship and Pelach has been key to coaching Wagner's ideas and devising training strategies to drive the team forward.
Hard work has allowed Norwich to hit the ground running, and Pelach has revealed their mission to become a well-rounded side capable of coping with all facets of the game.
"I think we have put in place what we want to be. We made the point in terms of personality - we want to be the main team and go for the game.
"We want to play with an arrogance and we don't want to be fearing or scared opponents. That doesn't mean we need to attack all the time.
"At the same time, football-wise, we want to be complete because in one game, there are a thousand games. We want to be good in defence. We want to be good in attack. We want to be good in counter attack. We want to be good in counter pressing moments. We want to be good with set plays.
"To put one quick example, Manchester City are the best at doing one thing - it's very clear. We want to be a versatile team that is able to compete in every moment of a game," he said.
"If you are winning then in the last 20 minutes then you need to show you are able to defend. If we are losing and we need to go for it, we need to know how to attack a deep block. We want to be very versatile and very complete.
"I think, in the first block of games, we have achieved that pretty quickly. I feel the identity is there, but there is plenty to improve that we have identified. In the next games, we need to keep adding.
"We are going for it, starting tomorrow, and then we will see where we are in 21 days with the next international break."
Pelach joined Norwich after a three-year spell at Huddersfield working with Corberan, Danny Schofield, Mark Fotheringham and Neil Warnock.
After Corberan's decision to resign three days before his third year at the club, having taken them to Wembley with Pelach by his side, the now City coach felt compelled not to turn his back on the club.
But after Warnock pulled off a miraculous great escape, Pelach felt it was the right time to leave. His job was done. Norwich acted quickly in inviting him down for talks with a view to adding him to their backroom team.
"It started with one interview, then another interview. I had interviews with Stuart (Webber), Neil (Adams) and with David (Wagner) and Christoph (Buhler).
"After every interview I was thinking 'Okay, I like this man, I feel comfortable, it looks like I can learn, improve and be better here'. That was the feeling.
"When it came to deciding where to go, my brain was certain that I needed to go to Norwich because of the feeling that I have - it was much better than other places where I had the opportunity to go. This is down to David and Stuart.
"When I went home I thought 'I know I'm going to be good here' and there is space for improvement. David was going to give me that space. With Stuart it was the same."
Pelach has achieved plenty in his varied coaching career - but two key objectives remain on his list, to win promotion and to work in the top-flight, two things he yet to achieved.
At Norwich, he hopes he can fulfil those aspirations.
"My dream is to get a promotion. I came to Norwich because I wanted to get promoted. I have never won," he said.
"All the staff, Paul Clements, Andrew Hughes, Christoph Buhler, David Wagner - they have all won. The same with the club and the staff - they have achieved promotion to the Premier League but not me. This is why I made my decision."
Pelach's career trajectory illustrates he is somebody who has a desire to reach the top of the game and is prepared to make sacrifices in order to achieve it.
Having been a head coach, Pelach has made no secret of his desire to eventually become a head coach. He had the chance this summer when he held talks with Blackpool over succeeding Mick McCarthy.
Crucially, Pelach isn't somebody in a hurry. He still feels there is plenty to learn before he decides to become the frontman.
"I'm not afraid to say that (I want to be a head coach) because I always say that if I give my all and my best, then if I don't achieve, I won't feel embarrassed.
"I have always said that I want to arrive at the top level," Pelach said. "I have never got the chance to be in the first division of any country and I would like to achieve that in England because I arrived four years ago and it felt like home. I like the country and the football.
"I would like to be in the Premier League as an assistant coach and I hope for that to be here. This is one of my dreams.
"Then, in years to come, I want to become a head coach but I don't have rules. I am just 35. I want to be ready. I want to learn more. I want to enjoy this part as well."
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