In the career of a typical footballer, winning silverware can be a relatively rare occurrence and might never happen at all. To do so in a manner that may never again be replicated is usually only the stuff of childhood dreams.
However, that's an emerging reality for the team at Sydney FC, who will clinch the A-League premiership this weekend if they can overcome fifth-placed Perth Glory.
The Sky Blues sit clear atop the standings by 11 points with four matches of the regular season remaining, and stand a good chance to eclipse the all-time single-season points record of 65 -- Sydney FC currently have 56 points -- set by Brisbane Roar seven years ago.
One of the things about playing on a team that is achieving at such a high level, though, is that being close to your goals is not good enough. Midfielder Brandon O'Neill told ESPN FC that he and his teammates are aiming for nothing less than greatness, and they aren't there yet.
"We've had a tremendous season where everything that we wanted to achieve so far we have done, but it's only been the small stuff that we have actually achieved," O'Neill said.
"Our two targets for the year were to be the greatest team in A-League history and to win the championship, and we haven't done either of them yet.
"We still have six games, including the semifinal and the final, to tick off the two major things which we wanted to achieve this year. That starts with Perth away on Sunday, where we know a win will announce ourselves as premiers.
"In the scheme of things that's a nice little accolade to have but it's not the be all and end all. We want to be going into the end of May, into the Grand Final, winning that and then we can sit back and acknowledge the season that we've had.
"We're under no illusions that we're in a very good position at the moment but our main focus and our main goal is to win the championship come May."
O'Neill credits the success of this Sydney team to the unique and inspiring dressing room chemistry created by head coach Graham Arnold in an offseason where he added fringe Socceroos Michael Zullo, Alex Wilkinson, Josh Brillante, Bernie Ibini and Danny Vukovic, as well as Brazilian striker Bobo.
"At the start of preseason we all sat down and Arnie got us together and you could tell there was something special, something in the air about this group of players.
"To be a great team, to be a championship-winning team, you've obviously got to have good footballers and work together as a proper unit, but you really need to have good people around you, and we've been very fortunate at Sydney FC this year to have that.
"Everyone's fit and firing and it's just been a really enjoyable atmosphere because everyone wants the same thing; everyone wants to be the premiers, everyone wants to be the champions, and everyone wants to be the greatest team in A-League history.
"It's a very, very happy place. It's a place where you know you'll walk into the change room and know what's expected of you.
"We're very lucky to have great leaders at the club, I could name five or six. Our captain Alex Brosque is an absolutely outstanding leader and the older boys with him make sure us younger lads know what's expected of us straight away.
"The biggest thing is when you walk into the Sydney FC change room, everyone is treated as an equal. No one's treated as bigger than anyone else, everyone understands that the team is bigger than themselves, and everyone understands what we have to strive for," O'Neill revealed.
Within this cohesive unit, O'Neill has proven to be a true fulcrum in the middle of the pitch, dictating the tempo of each game and making an impact on and off the ball.
Having now played in 27 games in all competitions this season, the 22-year-old is enjoying the type of breakout campaign that could see him propelled into national team contention in the not-too-distant future.
"I've had a very enjoyable footballing year in that at the start of the season I had a lot of goals I wanted to tick off," O'Neill said. "I'm very glad that we're at a stage where in six games time I can tick off a few of them.
"Last year, which was really my first full year in the A-League, my form was kind of in and out a little bit. I'd have a really good game one week and be under-par the next, so it was important for me to be consistent this year and play week-in, week-out consistently well for the team and just try and do my job.
"I feel like I've been able to do that this year and hopefully come the end of the season the team accolades can show how well everyone in the team has done."
Perhaps more important than the trophies and records, however, is the recognition of how extraordinarily uncommon such a season can be. This understanding -- particularly at the start of a career -- surely sets a player aside as exceptional, and provides the sort of experience that can lead to future success.
O'Neill and Sydney FC have not yet etched their names in the history books with their feats this term, but you sense something special is blossoming.
For now, O'Neill has, at the very least, earned the last word: "Something like this rarely happens, that you can be involved in such a great team. So I'm very fortunate to be able to be in the position that I am."