They met in the opening round of fixtures back in August, when the ASEAN Club Championship made a long-awaited return following a 20-year hiatus.
Yet, that will not be the only reason why there will be an uncanny sense of familiarity when Vietnam's Công An Hà Nội and Buriram United of Thailand face off in the competition's upcoming final -- starting with Wednesday's first leg at Hàng Đẫy Stadium in Hanoi.
For over a decade now, Thailand and Vietnam have taken turns being the dominant force of the region.
Indonesia might have something to say about that, given they are the only Southeast Asian team to reach the current third round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
But when it comes to the regional stage strictly, no team other than Thailand and Vietnam have lifted the ASEAN Championship since 2014 with the pair sharing the last six titles.
It is Vietnam who presently hold the bragging rights following a 5-3 aggregate victory over the Thais in the decider of the last ASEAN Championship, which concluded at the start of this year.
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Likewise, it is CAHN who currently have one up over Buriram after their surprise 2-1 victory back in August.
Still, a previous meeting earlier in the campaign is not the only reason why the upcoming two matches will feature some familiar faces reuniting.
Of course, given both teams boast numerous internationals, the likes of Nguyễn Quang Hải, Phan Văn Đức and Vũ Văn Thanh are undoubtedly well acquainted with Theerathon Bunmathan, Suphanat Mueanta and Supachai Jaided given their battles over the years.
Nonetheless, in the dugout, CAHN also boast a man who will be no stranger to numerous Buriram players, given their coach Alexandré Pölking was the one who presided over Thailand's most-recent era of dominance -- having masterminded their back-to-back ASEAN Championship triumphs from 2020 to 2022.
"It's a different feeling," said Pölking. "It's always nice to see these people, especially when I see former players -- guys that you worked with and then now you have to play against.
"This is, for me, the good part. To know them, to know how I coached them before, how they are doing, how they would do against me now -- I like this kind of challenge.
"I understand also the rivalry between the two countries is a very healthy rivalry, because this makes both teams always try to get better and better."
While he acknowledged that the Thai League 1 remains ahead of its Vietnamese counterpart, Pölking believes the final will be an excellent opportunity for his team to show that the gap is not as vast as some might believe.
"I can say that the Thai League is ahead of the V.League in many factors now, but I believe - in winning this game - we can at least show that we also have a lot of quality here.
"We have really good conditions [for football], the pitch [at Hàng Đẫy Stadium] as you can see is perfect. The atmosphere, the fans [too]. I hope that winning this match could make everyone think the same."
After booking their place in the final last week as they completed a 3-1 aggregate win over compatriots BG Pathum United in the semifinals, Buriram coach Osmar Loss also acknowledged the fact that the decider will feature two sides that have already met previously in the campaign.
"We are really happy to be in the final, and to get the team that beat us in the first round and in our first game," he said.
"I think they [CAHN] are a really good team and they have good foreign players but, at that time, we were at the beginning of our season.
"I think that now we are stronger than in the past and more confident. I think that it will be a great final for the Shopee Cup.
While the ASEAN Club Championship was previously held two decades over, its return this season also came with an inaugural title sponsor -- making this edition the inaugural Shopee Cup.
Becoming the first team to lift the trophy will also provide both teams no shortage of motivation.
"We would really be overly happy to be the first one [to lift the trophy] because then you make history," said Pölking.
"I hope there will be many, many more [editions] coming in the years [ahead] but we really want to take this one. The first one.
"To put our name in the history of the tournament and, again, to put the name of Công An Hà Nội really at the [highest] spot of this region."