Although Lukas Hradecky skippered Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga championship was already decided on April 14 with a home win over Werder Bremen, the team only got to the actual championship celebration last Saturday after beating Augsburg 2-1 in the final round. It sealed the team’s unbeaten league season, during which Leverkusen dropped just 12 points. The unbeaten streak is now a whopping 51 matches.
On Monday, Hradecky told Urheilu what excited him the most about the club’s first championship win. The experienced Finnish defender had never been able to touch the Bundesliga’s classic championship plate, the Meisterschale, before.
– To be honest, I tried not to flash with it and I looked carefully to make sure I turned it the right way in the direction of the audience. The family was, of course, on the field, and from the stadium we went to the team’s base at the hotel Kasino Leverkusen. There was a party, but no doomsday party.
Can’t afford a party
Such things could not be better on April 14 or last Saturday, as Bayer Leverkusen will play two matches this week to complement the potential triple championship: the Europa League final in Dublin on Wednesday and the German Cup final in Berlin on Saturday. In the first, the Italian Atalanta will meet, in the latter, Kaiserslautern, a big club from a lower league level and from a rather distant past.
– If someone had predicted such a situation before the season, I would have asked, which fantasy world sci-fi movie are you filming? Hradecky laughs.
In addition to the matches, the club team season only includes a few preparatory exercises. On Monday, guests from the German anti-doping agency NADA arrived at the training, and Hradecky was also given a test draw.
– I guessed it as soon as I saw those four guys on the side of the field. Would there have been a fourth doping test for me in Germany.
According to German anti-doping rules, Bundesliga players can also be tested outside of matches and training sessions. Testers can take both blood and urine from the athlete. Hradecky says that only urine has been collected from him.
“It’s quite big maybe”
The question that most interests Finnish football fans at the moment is whether Hradecky has played for the last time in the club team this season. He played 33 Bundesliga matches and 15 clean sheets. The Czech has played one Bundesliga match and all of Leverkusen’s cup matches Matej Kovarwho according to Hradecky is also a sure starter on Wednesday in Dublin.
– There is no way I will play in the European League final. In the cup final on Saturday, maybe, but it’s quite big maybe. Xabi (head coach Alonso) will probably tell you about it on Thursday, Friday at the latest.
In his time in Eintracht Frankfurt’s shirt, Hradecky has both won and lost the Cup final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. There was a loss with Leverkusen in the spring of 2020.
The great son of Runosmäki in Turku emphasized that he does not protest any kind of decision of the head coach. The entire successful season has gone by these steps. When Hradecky has not played, TV pictures have revealed that he lived as a substitute player in really strong emotional states.
– The tension on the bench is unequivocally unbearable.
pin out
Even if Hradecky watches both finals from the sidelines, one thing is certain: when the Berlin final ends, the shoe will come off.
– Then the biggest parties begin, which will surely culminate in the city parade in Leverkusen.
Hradecky’s season continues in the national team jersey, when in early June, Finland spars with Portugal and Scotland, who are preparing for the European Championships, for the Huuhkaji in so-called no-stakes matches.
Bayer Leverkusen’s great success was largely based on the fact that the club management acquired and kept a large number of competitive players. It can now be seen in the national team selections of different countries.
Avalanche for the national teams
As many as 10 Leverkusen players will appear in the ranks of a total of six countries at the European Championship, which starts in Germany in mid-June. In addition, three players will go to the Copa America championship tournament played in the USA and the same amount will travel to strengthen their African national teams for the World Cup qualifiers. Hradecky is actually one of the small minority whose betting matches end on Saturday.
– That says a lot. A sufficiently large number of quality players was probably the biggest single enabler of success. We were a resilient team, and in addition to that, recycling also enabled various different ways of playing.
Hradecky has three favorites at the European Championships in Germany:
– France as the strongest, then Portugal and Germany. Spain is a dark horse. I don’t believe in England, even though they have quality.
The luxury problem
When a person wins the football Bundesliga in an overwhelming way as the captain of his team, he is no longer known only in the corners of the home stadium. Lukas Hradecky is only slightly known throughout Germany. The likable fan favorite admits that this has brought a whole new dimension to life specifically in Leverkusen.
– It’s a luxury problem, but when everyone wants a piece of me, sometimes I get nervous and there’s no way I can handle it. Of course, in the eternal world, I won’t start being tough on anyone or behaving badly, but under the surface, the pulse may rise a bit. Nowadays, it takes half an hour to leave training.
In his hometown of Düsseldorf, however, Hradecky can roam the city with his wife and little daughter in peace, even though the master skipper is recognized everywhere.
– Germans are kindred spirits to Finns in that they know how to politely give space and keep their distance.