The floodlights of the Stadion Galgenwaard pierced through the November evening like beacons of hope, illuminating what would become another chapter in FC Utrecht's remarkable European journey. The atmosphere was electric, charged with the kind of energy that only comes when a club and its supporters dare to dream of something greater than they had ever imagined possible.
Standard Liège, the Belgian giants with their rich European pedigree, had arrived in Utrecht expecting to face a team of eager but ultimately naive youngsters. What they found instead was a side that had been transformed by belief, by tactical sophistication, and by the otherworldly talent of their seventeen-year-old maestro.
