Even for a player who'd won three titles and firmly established himself as a fans' favourite at Chelsea, it was still nerve-racking.
As he arrived back at the club's Cobham training ground in December more than six years after leaving the Blues, Joe Cole was nervous.
Those three Premier League crowns, three FA Cups, two League Cups, 282 appearances and 40 goals spread across eight seasons did nothing to stop the butterflies.
Cole, keeping fit during the American off-season - he is currently winding down his career with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, spent several days being put through his paces by the Chelsea academy staff and was delighted to find a very familiar team spirit engulfing Cobham.