LEVERKUSEN.
Wir, für unseren Traum – we, for our dream.
You come across this proverb everywhere in Leverkusen. The dream can come true today if Leverkusen beats Werder Bremen at their home stadium in the German Bundesliga.
Nothing stands in the way of the dream, the first German championship in club history. Leverkusen, who are still unbeaten, have been so overwhelming this season.
On Saturday, red and black ribbons and balloons were hung on lampposts in the city of about 160,000 inhabitants. The table is set for a big party.
Even a triple championship is possible, as there have been no losses in other competitions either. In the final of the German Cup in May, Kaiserslautern, the second step in the series, will face, and in the Europa League, Leverkusen already has one leg in the semi-finals.
The beginning of the euphoric week was set on Thursday, when Leverkusen beat West Ham 2–0 in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Europa League. As many times before this season, the winning goal had to wait until the last minutes. Xabi Alonso on the other hand, the team’s performance was so dominant that goals were only a matter of time.
Captain Lukas Hradecky didn’t play on Thursday, but took the responsibility of captain in the celebration. He led his team in front of the supporters and while some of the players were a little shy, Hradecky jumped, bounced and took on his audience in a way seen in Huuhkaj.
This time, there was a confidence and liberation in the fans’ celebration that has not been seen and heard in Leverkusen before.
Deutscher Meister, wird nur der SVB – loosely translated, Leverkusen will be the champion of Germany. Bayern Munich have won the championship for 11 years in a row, but finally someone else has the chance to sing this traditional stadium song.
Interaction between players and fans is an essential part of German everyday life. In February, Hradecky, drunk with victory, climbed up to the stands to shout at the fans.
However, the best example of interaction in German football can be found in the players’ training routine. In Germany, the practices of even the biggest clubs are generally open. On Friday in Leverkusen, hundreds of people waited for the gates of the training ground to open and then took their positions on the long fence along which the players walk back to the dressing room after training.
One by one, the players went to greet the supporters. Autographs, group photos and exchange of information. Small, but valuable actions that put a big smile on the faces of younger fans in particular. This is not seen in other major European football leagues.
Hradecky was among the last to take on the job. The captain has represented Leverkusen for almost six years and has established himself as one of the fans’ favourites, even though goalkeepers are not traditionally shouted in fans’ jerseys.
The most popular name is the young German star Florian Wirtz, but Hradecky conquers with his saves and above all with his personality. There is time for everyone, even if Hradecky exclaims in Finnish that there is enough to do here.
This is precisely why Hradecky is a perfect fit for German football. Interaction is a big part of why Hradecky has risen to his current position as captain.
Hradecky, 34,’s career and position have been built in moderate steps. He has been playing in Germany for nine years. The years in Frankfurt and Leverkusen have made him the foreign goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in the Bundesliga.
The Bundesliga win will be Hradecky’s first league championship in his career. He has Cup trophies in his back pocket from Denmark (Esbjerg) and Germany (Frankfurt).
It can be said that Hradecky specializes in bringing success to clubs that haven’t really bathed in glory. It had been 34 years since the previous trophy in Esbjerg and 20 years in Frankfurt.
However, two achievements in Hradecky’s career will rise above the rest.
Four and a half years ago, the biggest curse of Finnish football was broken, when Huuhkajat played in the prestigious tournament for the first time. No one who was there will ever forget that November evening.
Now Hradecky gets the honor of breaking another, more than hundred-year-old curse. Bayer Leverkusen has never won the German championship, although it has come close many times.
In the years 1997–2002, the club won silver four times. In 2000, it reached the final round with a three-point lead, but lost the title to Bayern Munich. Two years later, Leverkusen lost their league lead and lost the finals in both the Champions League and the German Cup.
Today, everything can change. The stamp of eternal second place and the nickname Neverkusen will go down in history this spring in Leverkusen. April 14, 2024 could be Leverkusen’s own November 15, 2019.
These dates will be joined by Hradecky if the championship is decided today. In any case, he will remain forever in Leverkusen’s 120-year history as the first player to lift the Bundesliga championship plate directly into his hands.
In Finland, he becomes the first player to win a major European series as a captain. It is an achievement that may never be repeated.