- Andres Iniesta was close to his best in the Spanish midfield on Friday night
- He had to be withdrawn after 70 minutes but helped drive his side forward
- This could be the Barcelona legend's final international tournament with Spain
The hair - or what's left of it - is a little greyer around the sides and the stamina to last 90 minutes is fast fading.
But in Sochi on Friday night a 34-year-old Andres Iniesta almost re-wound eight years to the pinnacle of his career.
The Fisht Stadium on the banks of the Black Sea for a group-stage clash with Portugal wasn't quite the Soccer City Stadium in the 2010 World Cup final.
His impact was not as seismic as that July evening against Holland, as Spain's golden generation claimed their place in immortality.
And in truth it was elsewhere, in the dynamism and forward thrust provided by Isco that Spain surged forwards in Sochi, only to be denied by the brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Iniesta's day was done 20 minutes from time, as former club-mate Thiago Alcantara came on and added to the midfield carousel that had the Portuguese in such a spin.
It wasn't quite a changing of the guard moment - the Bayern Munich man is 27 after all - but it showed Spain that there is a future after the Barcelona legend, should he hang up his boots in international football.
There's no hint of that yet, and certainly his performance on Friday didn't suggest as such.
The experience and what he represents cannot be measured, but offers as much importance to this Spain side thrown into chaos by the departure of Julen Lopetegui as anything he does on the pitch.
He certainly impressed Danny Murphy on BBC commentary, who reflected: 'On this first half performance I'm struggling to see why Andres Iniesta has finished playing at Barcelona.
'He looks the same as he's always looked. Silky on the ball, creative, comfortable, glides across the pitch.'
And as he made way in the 70th minute, he added: 'He's been great again. Tired a little bit in the second half, but some magical moments.'
The world waits with baited breath to see what mark Iniesta will leave on the Russia World Cup. But if this is the last of him on the greatest stage, the world should savour every last second.