Frankfurt/Main, Hessen, Deutschland, 22.10.2025: Waldstadion/Deutsche Bank Park: UEFA Champions League 2025/26: Eintracht Frankfurt - FC Liverpool: Ibrahima Konaté 05, FC Liverpool *** Frankfurt Main, Hesse, Germany, 22 10 2025 Waldstadion Deutsche Bank Park UEFA Champions League 2025 26 Eintracht Frankfurt FC Liverpool Ibrahima Konaté 05, Liverpool FC Copyright: xdtsxNachrichtenagenturx dts_90920
Hearts defender Stuart Findlay has dismissed any suggestion that the club’s Champions League qualifier against Sturm Graz represents a no-pressure free hit.
The Tynecastle stalwart believes this could be the only opportunity many players in Wouter Vrancken’s squad will ever have to compete on European football’s biggest stage.
Hearts travel to Austria on Monday for the second qualifying round, facing a Sturm Graz side that finished second in the Austrian Bundesliga last season.
Sturm made the league phase of the Champions League two seasons ago and enter the tie as heavy favourites, with Hearts holding the safety net of Europa League qualifiers if they fall short.
Findlay, who is 30, admitted he never knew whether a chance like this would come his way, making the opportunity all the more meaningful.
He said: “It’s a once in a lifetime chance for a lot of people. Not many people get to play Champions League football. At the age of 30 I didn’t know if I would get the chance to play Champions League football.”
The defender came through the ranks at Celtic during an era when the club regularly competed at this level under Neil Lennon and Ronny Deila, with Lennon guiding the side to the group stages against Barcelona, AC Milan and Ajax in 2013.
Findlay was a ball boy at Celtic Park during those memorable European nights, absorbing the atmosphere from the sidelines before going on to experience European football himself with Kilmarnock two seasons ago.
That Kilmarnock run took in ties against Cercle Brugge, Tromso and Copenhagen across the Europa and Conference League qualifiers, but a Champions League night at Tynecastle promises to be something entirely different.
He said: “I remember being a ball boy at Celtic Park when you’re in the youth team and you can imagine the atmosphere. But I’d like to think Tynecastle under the lights for a Champions League game is going to be that extra bit special.”
Findlay expressed particular excitement about the prospect of hosting Sturm Graz at Tynecastle, describing it as the moment the whole squad is building toward after a positive first leg performance in Austria.
He said: “Hopefully we get a performance in the first leg to give us a good footing for the second leg and we come back to a bouncing Tynecastle and show Sturm Graz what Champions League football can be about.”
Hearts head into the tie having lost four captains from last season, with Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin, and Frankie Kent all departing, while Craig Halkett faces a spell on the sidelines until the new year through injury.
Findlay acknowledged the significant leadership void left behind but insisted the club retains a strong core, pointing to himself, Blair Spittal, Jamie McCart, Stephen Kingsley, and Harry Milne as figures capable of driving standards.
He said: “We have to make sure that we’re all a team of leaders and the new guys coming in quickly get up to the expectations of what we want and the quicker we do that and the quicker we can hit the ground running the better.”
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