On Wednesday night, Tomas Soucek will sit in the spot where he always sat. He’ll change where he always changed and see the faces he always saw.
He’ll consider how far he’s come. He’ll think about his family in the stands and how much they sacrificed for him to get here.
He’ll think about what he might achieve. And then, after all that, he thinks he will probably cry.
For when West Ham face Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League, they will do so inside the Fortuna Arena, the home of Slavia Prague, the club where Soucek spent 15 years of his life.