Shamrock Rovers were a success story even before they played Juventus.
There might have been several hours to go before kick-off, but still there was little room to manoeuvre through the crowd as Tallaght erupted into a carnival atmosphere last Thursday night.
Not everyone who gathered around the Tallaght Stadium was lucky enough to have a ticket for the Europa League showdown with Juventus, although there was little chance that they were going to miss this occasion as Shamrock Rovers were finally back hosting a European giant.
A few years ago the memories of the club's thrilling nights in Milltown had started to fade into urban myth as few believed that they would ever return to the glory days that they enjoyed when claiming a historic four-in-a-row and matching the likes of Bayern Munich.
It took 21 years for the Hoops to find a new home, so there was a sense of relief mixed in with the excitement that hung over the south-west Dublin venue throughout the first leg of their third-round qualifier.
Of course, the perfect ending rarely ever follows such a turbulent story. And despite producing an admirable performance, Rovers fell to a 2-0 defeat to their Italian opponents. But midfielder Stephen Rice feels there were plenty of positives to take from the night.
"As a professional player it always hurts when you lose a game, although we were playing against world class opposition and I think we gave a good account of ourselves," Rice told the Sunday Tribune.
"There was a big crowd at Tallaght on the night and it was live on TV, so hopefully we can convince a few people that the standard of the League of Ireland is quite good as we did ourselves and the league proud.
"If we can continue to do well in Europe then more fans will come in. By playing well against a team like Juventus, we have done ourselves a lot of good in trying to bring all of those fans back."
For Rovers, times have certainly changed in their recent history. No longer are they moving from ground to ground to play 'home' games or struggling to pay off the €2.36m that almost brought about their demise.
Instead, they are now viewed as the club that all others envy. There is the 6,000-capacity Tallaght Stadium that they call home, the impressive crowds they attract to each game, the various sponsors that are tripping over each other to be associated with them and the fact that they are one of the stronger teams in the league.
Rice knows how far they have come to reach this stage and the 28-year-old believes the structure in place at Rovers should be used as the template for other League of Ireland clubs to build on.
"From my perspective, as a player with the club, it is a top class set-up. But I don't think people realize how much work has been put in to get here," said Rice.
"Part of the reason why things are going so well now is that the club moved in Tallaght, which is a big catchment area and they have connected with the local community. That is crucial as you need to build a core fan base of local people.
"The club has come a long way and right now it looks like we have it all with the stadium, the fans, a very good manager and a strong squad, but there is still a lot of work to do."
The future certainly looks bright for Rovers with plans to expand the Tallaght Stadium, challenge for silverware and attract even more supporters. Before all of that though, there is the little matter of a trip to Italy to take on Juventus again.