HOUSTON -- Paul Pogba was the last man into Manchester United's dressing room after Thursday's 2-0 derby friendly victory. After playing all 90 minutes, the midfielder stayed on the NRG Stadium pitch to pose for selfies before walking down the long tunnel, while holding his boots and guarded by one of his team's 12 bodyguards.
Eric Bailly was one of the first United players to walk in the opposite direction. Having showered and changed into a smart grey club tracksuit, the defender left the dressing room and walked past the many fans waiting outside, who hoped for a chance to see their heroes close up. Those chosen few might be guests of the United-owning Glazer family, sponsors the game's organisers.
"Eric, can I have a word please?" I asked. Bailly is usually fair and stops to talk in Spanish. We have a mutual friend, a man who gave him his professional debut for Espanyol's B team. It's on those small contacts that relationships can start to be built between journalists and players. But, this time, Bailly shook his head and said: "I'm going to see Yaya Toure," as he continued walking to meet his fellow Ivorian, whom he embraced.
Such is life in the mixed zone, a makeshift area set up in the bowels of a stadium after the game, usually between dressing rooms and team transport. Players are obliged to walk through but whether or not they stop, either to sign autographs, take photos or talk to the assembled media, is up to them. Some, like Bailly, take the chance to catch up with a rival.
Elsewhere, Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini spoke with their Belgian compatriot Kevin De Bruyne; Sergio Romero chatted to another Sergio, his Argentine international teammate Aguero. England internationals Marcus Rashford and Kyle Walker may have competed for the same ball on the pitch, but off it they communicate. As do other Englishmen, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, John Stones and Raheem Sterling.
The United and City players may be neighbours in Manchester, with their children going to the same schools and partners to the same yoga classes, yet even though they fly from the same airport to the same city on the other side of the world, where they stay in neighbouring hotels, they have no contact with each other because their clubs don't approve.
But while boxers don't socialise together in the days before fights either, they'll often embrace after and that's what many of the United and City players and staff did, before being ushered on to waiting buses and escorted by police back to the airport. There, a private chartered plane, which waited in a distant hanger well away from the passenger terminals, was cleared from immediate takeoff.
Fans don't really appreciate Red and Blue fraternising, but some relationships are understandable. Most are drawn along nationality grounds but, occasionally, can involve former club teammates. Was Patrice Evra supposed to stop seeing his mate and neighbour Carlos Tevez just because he left Old Trafford for City in 2009? Evra did not and continued to wind Tevez up about really being a United fan at heart, especially ahead of Manchester derbies.
Evra always spoke well to the media, as did many of his United teammates from the end of Sir Alex Ferguson's time in charge. Darren Fletcher was a good talker, as were Michael Carrick, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nemanja Vidic, Edwin van der Sar, Jonny Evans and Wayne Rooney.
By contrast, Tevez had little to say. Language can be a hindrance and those uncomfortable speaking English are wary of being misunderstood or misquoted. Moreover, a lack of familiarity with the UK media culture, and which outlet is which, can also be a reason to stay quiet.
It's frustrating for journalists in search of a story when nobody stops to talk but, in fairness, the players often don't know who's who in the wild west of the mixed zone, where they see only a wall of faces. I've interviewed one face-to-face for 40 minutes on a Thursday and been ignored three days later when, after a game, guards are up and it is impossible to see who is holding the microphone at the back of the group and asking no questions.
United have helped the travelling media in the U.S. by organising separate interviews at the team hotel in Los Angeles, where the players are more relaxed. Meanwhile, there are other factors in the changing media landscape. Newspapers still regularly break stories but don't sell in the quantities they once did, while players have their own form of (social) media and some receive extra money for providing content through those platforms.
Teams are increasingly pushing their own form of content and young staff in blue tracksuits guided City's players towards interviews after Thursday's game. Given the understandably positive nature of such club-run channels, players are at ease when talking to them, always seeking to accentuate the positives.
More searching questions come from elsewhere. David De Gea doesn't want to be asked about possibly moving to Real Madrid, so he stays clear of journalists and says nothing. It's a shame that fans seldom get to hear his voice, but you can also see his perspective; there would be little advantage to explaining that he'd actually like to play for the Bernabeu club one day.
That's why, when the next mixed zone takes place in Santa Clara on Sunday after United and Madrid face each other, De Gea will be especially careful who he's seen speaking to. Imagine the reaction to a picture of him talking to Madrid president Florentino Perez?