He does not celebrate goals, shuns interviews, and has no sponsorship deal with any sportswear brand. Yet Michael Olise has become the first player to assist five goals at a single World Cup since Germany's Thomas Hassler in 1994, and his France side face Paraguay in the last 16 on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Bayern Munich forward, who scored 25 goals and provided 28 assists in the Bundesliga last season, is now widely regarded as one of the world's best players. But those who have known him since childhood say his reserved nature is nothing new – it is simply "Michael being Michael".
“Michael Olise, quiet perfectionist, is first player with five World Cup assists since 1994 as France face Paraguay.”
Born in London to a French-Algerian mother, Mina, and a Nigerian father, Vincent, Olise stood out from a young age. Daniel Coker, his sports teacher at Dr Triplett's CE Primary School in Hayes, recalled the moment he first saw Olise play.
"The sports coaches came to me one day and said have you seen this boy... in year two?" Coker told BBC Sport. "When I saw him play... I knew that he was going to be something special."
Already on Chelsea's books as a child, Olise excelled in every sport he tried. "At age 10 and 11 that's when I'd get him in everything I could," Coker added. "He'd come and have a go and just blow us out the water with how good he was."
But even then, Olise did not like fuss. "Michael was a quiet and shy boy. He gave so many assists to our team, he'd score loads of goals, but he didn't used to celebrate, he just used to get back straight in and want to go again," said Coker. "He's not one of those ones to dwell on it and take that moment in. He didn't like the limelight. So when I see that on camera now, when he doesn't celebrate or he runs back, it's just what he's always done."
Headteacher Rachel Anderson remembered the difficulty of getting Olise back into class after football, particularly if his team had not won. "He would be still kicking the ball around the classroom and it would be like, 'Come on Michael, it's enough now'," she said. "I think other schools used to sigh and look quite depressed when we turned up with Michael on our team for so many things because they knew they didn't stand much of a chance. He was a perfectionist and over-analysed everything."
Now, as Olise prepares for a World Cup knockout tie, the spotlight is unavoidable. But his childhood teachers know that, off the pitch, he will remain the same shy boy who just wanted to play again.