Just three men have made over 100 appearances for an Australian national football team.
Two are retired Socceroos legends: Mark Schwarzer (109) and Tim Cahill (108).
The third is David Barber, who, at 43 years of age, remains an active player for the CommBank Pararoos, and has a realistic shot at eclipsing the esteemed pair above him.
Speaking to Pararoos.com.au after registering his record 105th international appearance this week, his message to Schwarzer and Cahill was shared with a chuckle: "if I'm lucky, I'm coming for you!"
And considering his incredible story of strength, resilience and athletic achievement to reach this point, it would be advisable to avoid betting against him.
A new role: Picking up the gloves
In a way, over the course of his career, Barber has managed to become a blend of both Cahill and Schwarzer.
Like the pair, he has long exhibited strong leadership traits, while registering a prolific goalscoring record of 70 goals in 105 internationals that Timmy would certainly be proud of.
But as he approached a rare set of home matches against the USA this week, Barber was preparing to try out a new role.
Tuesday's modified training match and Thursday's closed international fixture saw him lead out Australia once again. But this time he was not wearing green and gold; instead, the purple kit of a goalkeeper.
"Today was an interesting day, I made my debut officially as a goalkeeper," Barber said following Australia's tight 2-0 defeat to America on Thursday.
"For years now I've been joking and saying, 'coach throw me the gloves, I can keep as well!'"
"And he (coach Kai Lammert) always told me to wake up to myself, because you do your thing on the field.
But progressively as my career is going on, I have worked my way from striker to midfield to fullback. And this week the coaches asked me to try and wear a different hat."
Barber explains how the classification system CP Football follows has a specific role to play in his position change.
CP football is a seven-a-side sport with smaller goals, 30-minute halves and no offside, where players are classed as FT1, FT2 and FT3 depending on how their disability affects a player, with at least one FT1 player and a maximum of one FT3 player required at all times.
"To try and give our team a bit of a different look, a lot of our FT1 class players are coming through at the moment are more gifted on the field than in goal. And with that, we've got to find other ways to make it work.
"It gives us a different look and certainly a different capability to use our players in the best possible way that we can.
"It means that I've got to learn a whole new skill set, but a lot of the things that I do every day translate to that anyway so, I'm really looking forward to the challenge and we'll see how many times I wear the gloves."
How it all began: A child hiding disability
Barber's journey through CP Football has been about so much more than simple sporting achievement.
He openly reflects upon his journey into the sport, and the emotions he endured prior to finding a place where his disability was a source of joy, not shame.
After just being considered a clumsy child, he was finally diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at the age of 3-4.
Growing up in regional Queensland, he recalls constantly adjusting his posture, particularly while tired, "so people wouldn't think that I looked different".
Barber remembers his younger years for the 'little things' like wearing long pants wherever possible to hide his muscle tone, and working 'twice as hard' to do anything.
"My biggest fear was, I'm gonna have to tell people I have a disability," he reflects.
"I made sure to keep it a secret. I didn't like telling people, because I knew they would view you differently - back then they genuinely did."
Originally cricket and rugby were the sports that caught his attention, before a chance soccer training invite from a neighbour one day changed everything.
The sport became his escape, a chance to leave the day-to-day challenges of living with disability aside.
Despite his obvious ability, years of trialling for local representative teams offered varied levels of success, before a 19-year-old Barber was introduced to the prospect of CP Football.
However, his initial reaction was not overly positive.
"It was something that I was scared of (due to wanting to hide his disability), but I sort of sucked it up and said, 'yeah, I'm just gonna take a risk and go with it'," Barber recalls. "If I could go back now I would remind myself, 'hey, it's okay to be different'.
It was the best decision I've ever made. Here we are, it's been a hell of a run."
There from the start: A world record-breaking leader
Barber is a true legend of CP Football, and on a broader level, Australian sport.
He is officially cap #1 of the CommBank Pararoos, having debuted as captain in the team's first competitive fixture against the Netherlands on October 27, 1999.
Since then, he has captained Australia 96 times, making him the longest-serving international captain in Australian, and possibly world, sporting history.
As the team founded ahead of the Sydney Olympics celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2023, so does Barber.
He still recalls the first camp back in October 1998, coming together with kids from all over the country to gather in Narrabeen, a short drive away from Saturday's venue, Cromer Park.
It all took off from there, as Barber went on to represent Australia at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.
"It was an incredible experience to go up against athletes from another part of the world that are just like you and really test yourself," he reflects.
"I started to figure out very quickly that I was actually at a high level, not just a reasonable player, but I was genuinely world-class, which I was incredibly proud of.
"We went to the Olympics and we didn't get the results we wanted, but finished up the tournament with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands, which is our first and biggest win at that stage.
"It was an incredible moment. The crowd was amazing. I had my mum and grandmother there as well as the rest of my family watching the highlights every night on TV. It was super special."
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The Pararoos' fight to stay alive
Little did he know at the time, 19 years would pass between Barber's Paralympic experience and his next competitive outing on home soil.
During that time the squad would take time off work, school or study to gather regularly and travel abroad to represent Australia at the IFCPF World Cup.
Then in 2015, after the Australian Sports Commission withdrew all government funding, Australia's only National Football Team for athletes with cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury or symptoms acquired from stroke faced a serious threat.
Barber recalls his reaction to the news.
"To just say it was shattering would be an understatement," he says.
"The team had gone from strength to strength, but not necessarily with the results to show it, because every other program in the world was getting stronger as well.
"But we were growing, we were identifying players across the country, we started having National Championships and we were doing a lot of really good things domestically.
"We became under the banner of Football Australia, and that was hugely exciting as well. We had professional coaches, proper medical staff, and everything was great.
Then in the blink of an eye, everything was cut."
For almost two years, Barber and his teammates' dreams were put on hold as the side 'sat idle'.
Eventually, thanks to a partnership between Football Australia and the Australian Sports Foundation (ASF), a tax-deductible fund to raise money for the program was established, kickstarting a new era for CP Football in Australia.
A long-awaited homecoming: Australia 5-0 Canada, 2019
In November 2019, the Pararoos finally stole the show on home soil once again.
It was a long-overdue homecoming for Barber, who fittingly brought up 100 caps as Australia emphatically defeated Canada 5-0 in front of over 1,100 fans.
"It was the first time I'd really experienced anything since the Olympics that had a genuine international production feel, like when you go to a Socceroos game," said Barber.
"You walk through the arches, you see all the fan day stuff, there's merchandise, there's people, there's colour, there's vibrancy, and noise - which is probably the best thing.
"To come in on that day, and to feel all that just amazing. People were in Pararoos shirts and scarves and waving around the stands.
"Everyone had such an incredible day, not just myself and the players, but the fans as well - they got to see what CP football is in the flesh, not just watching it on the stream at two o'clock in the morning from the other side of the world.
It was bonkers"
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The task at hand: facing USA on Saturday
Three years later, Barber is set to walk out onto Cromer Park once again, in what would be appearance 106 - leaving him two shy of Cahill, and three of the all-time record holder Schwarzer.
With the experience of facing the world number four-ranked nation at last year's IFCPF World Cup, and twice earlier in the week, the Pararoos skipper knows what to expect from Saturday's opponents.
"They're a real handful," he explains. "Physically, they're a very big side, well drilled, very well coached, and very disciplined.
"They don't give a lot away, they don't leave themselves exposed very often, and their results here certainly indicate that.
READ: CommBank Pararoos v USA - Ultimate Guide
"But they are beatable, where they have size, you can't attack them with speed, you can move them around, and you can make them tired very quickly, especially in the heat here in Sydney, we're looking forward to it being as warm as possible on Saturday, we'll take every advantage we can get.
"But there's a lot of challenges to them, we're gonna have to be very careful with our approach, very disciplined, but we've got some pretty impressive players ourselves, and our guys are just starting to come into their own.
"I think we're going to be more than a handful for them on the weekend, I certainly expect a very, very good game."
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Moving forward...
The chance to eclipse a couple of legends is naturally on Barber's radar, but his goals moving forward are about so much more than that.
When asked about the future, he naturally and humbly considers the next generation.
If you were to take Barber out of Thursday's starting lineup against USA, the average age sat at just 19.
And having emerged through a story of struggle, before success, the inspirational captain is determined to help leave a legacy for CP football that far exceeds his playing achievements.
"Obviously, I've spent my entire playing career looking up to the achievements of those guys to be even considered alongside them is quite humbling," Barber shares.
"And I'm not really sure I'm worthy but if I get the chance to continue to chase those lofty heights, I'll certainly give it a crack.
"I'm not getting any younger, and in terms of continuing playing, there were plenty of times where I was more than satisfied with everything I've achieved.
"But I really have a hunger to see how far I can go and how much I can push - and there's history to be made, potentially.
If anyone can make it, why not me?"
"There's a lot of times where the sacrifice is real and incredibly hard. There were times where I'd been overseas, and I hadn't been paid for two months, because I had to take leave without pay, and you get the phone calls in the middle of the night where you know, it's the creditors because you missed this month's payment.
"And that's another reason why I'd love our players to be to be compensated in the future because hopefully, they don't have to juggle those decisions. It can be so much easier for them, and they can break every record that I've ever set."
CommBank Pararoos v United States of America
Date: 4 February 2023
Location: Cromer Park, Manly
Kick-Off: 3.00pm (AEDT)
Tickets: Tickets are available at Ticketek, with 100 per cent of ticket sales invested back into the CommBank Pararoos and nurturing the next generation of para footballers.
Broadcast: Stream the action live and free on 10 Play from 2.45pm AEDT.