The news had arrived three months earlier, bearing the UEFA logo that had haunted Utrecht's dreams for nearly a decade. Inside, printed on crisp white paper, were four names that would define the club's destiny: Group A - FC Utrecht (Netherlands), Lille OSC (France), Standard Liège (Belgium), ŠK Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia).
For a club that had spent the better part of ten years watching European football from the sidelines, this draw represented more than just a return to continental competition. This was Utrecht's moment to prove they belonged among Europe's elite, their chance to write a new chapter in a history that had been dormant for far too long.
