Lukas Hradecky is looking for a crown for his career – these Finns are in the Champions League | Sport

Lukas Hradecky’s Leverkusen potential surprise?

Lukas Hradecky represented by Leverkusen will face a tough test already in the league stage. The German champion’s opponents in the Champions League are, in order, Feyenoord (v), AC Milan (v), Brest (v), Liverpool (v), Salzburg (v), Inter (v), Atletico Madrid (v) and Sparta Prague (v).

– The ride is of course tough, but it’s really interesting to see how Leverkusen, who excelled last season, will perform at the absolute top, says the expert Antti Pohja.

Leverkusen’s advantage is that a successful coach Xabi Alonso remained to develop the club’s game, and the turnover of the players was not too great.

– Leverkusen are not long-term winners in the Champions League. Still, you could think that this year or this season they will be able to continue with the template where they left off in the championship year. In that sense, they have good starting points. Leverkusen has a real chance to go far, thinks the football expert.

In the latest Urheilulehti, Hradecky hints that he still has one more competition that he hasn’t won yet.

– Of course it would be a “snapper”, but it might require more miracles than winning the Bundesliga. If ever, then this season. With this gang, it can be successful, emphasizes Hradecky to the magazine.

Kaan Kairinen’s Sparta is fighting for the next place

The Champions League will see a Finnish match on January 29, 2025, as Leverkusen will meet in the last round of the league stage Kairinen too represented by Sparta Prague. The coaching of the Czech club includes the Huuhkajie coaching team Tim Sparv.

Sparta Prague will face Salzburg (k), Stuttgart (v), Manchester City (v), Brest (v), Atletico Madrid (v), Feyenoord (v), Inter (v) and Leverkusen (v).

– Sparta faced Liverpool last season in the Eurocups, and that’s when the level difference became visible, Pohja refers to the Europa League playoffs, where Liverpool first crushed Sparta away 5–1 and then again at Anfield 6–1.

According to the expert, Sparta Praha has shown that it is a quality team at its best.

– So what is it good for in the Champions League? When 24 teams make it to the next round, I think there is a seam there.

Pohja says that he is following Sparta’s sky in the Champions League with interest because of the Finns.

– Kairinen has taken a big role in their midfield and is a very important player for the team. Sparvilla, on the other hand, has a strong start to his coaching career. He has risen quickly from the youth team to the coach of the representative team, says the futisexpert.

Tim Sparvi is responsible for monitoring the way of play

Tim Sparv, 37, forms Sparta Praha’s coaching together with the Danish duo, head coach Lars Friisin and assistant coach Jens Berthel Askou with. Friis, who finished his two-year coaching contract, took over from Aalborg BK, while Askou moved from IFK Göteborg.

– I have talked with Sparv about his role. You could say that he is the controller of the way of playing in the club, who makes sure that what is sought for is kept, explains expert Pohja.

In other words, the Finnish coach observes unsolicited things on the field and hones in on the usual flaws in the game.

– If some certain things start to spread, then his task is to see that those deviations are directed back. Of course, he certainly also has other roles, for example in special situations. At the very least, he plays a key role when it comes to how Sparta Prague perform week in and week out.

Pohja believes that Tim Sparv is in a good place at the beginning of his coaching career.

– He himself has said that Prague has a very professional organization and a way of playing in all respects that he himself can sign. If he succeeds there – and now he already got a place in the Champions League stage with the successes of six qualifying games, then maybe he will be the head coach at some point or go with this staff to an even bigger club. Sparv is in a pretty good window at the moment, emphasizes Pohja.

Viljami Sinisalo is on duty on Celtic’s bench

Keeper Viljami Sinisalo has been on Celtic’s bench regularly at the start of the season. Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel is still a top scorer and a self-righted first molar that Celtic rely on.

Let’s see if the Finn gets to taste the atmosphere of the Champions League as a playing goalkeeper as well.

Jyri Nieminen coaches Feyenoord’s goalkeepers

In the coaching of the Dutch Feyenoord, the goalkeeper pilot, from Tampere, has an impact Jyri Nieminen36, who has had a UEFA coaching license for eight years already.

Niklas Pyyhtien represented by Bologna is participating in the Champions League, but the Finn is injured and was not named to Bologna’s UCL team.

The league phase now continues until the end of January, while previously the initial groups had been played before Christmas. With the new system, the total number of matches in the Champions League will increase from 125 to 189. With the change, Uefa wanted to get more meaningful matches and more encounters between big teams.