The world star who enjoyed VIP treatment is the worst obstacle to Huuhkajie’s dream – Lukas Hradecky told about his moment in the doping test with Jan Oblak

LJUBLJANA. A decade at the top of Europe is a long time.

The first goalkeeper of the Slovenian national football team Jan Oblak has stood at the goal of his small country for years. The Slovenian, who turned 30 last January, made his debut in the men’s national team at the age of 19, in September 2012.

The archetype of the modern top goalkeeper has championships from club teams in his pocket, but one thing is missing. Namely, a value competition place.

Now standing in front of Oblak’s thirst for competition is Huuhkajat, the Finnish men’s national football team. Slovenia is one of the two teams facing a must-win at home on Saturday.

– I expect a positive outcome for us. In this match, both teams have a lot of individual skills, but both rely on the collective. In particular, both teams have skills in front of the goal, both have an excellent goalkeeper, Slovenia’s head coach Matjaž Kek stated to Urheilu after the team’s press conference.

When asked, Kek does not admit that the team would especially like to play a competitive spot for Oblak.

However, he is right that when the whistle blows at the Štozice stadium, all eyes will be on the captains of both teams, i.e. the goalkeepers. The top European goalkeeper also stands in Finland’s goal, Lukas Hradecky.

Hradecky is the one of the two mentioned above who already has a place in the competition below.

Cheating in a doping test

In his club team in the Spanish Atletico Madrid, Oblak has reaped glory in the last ten years or so and has become one of the world’s elite goalkeepers.

The last time Hradecky and Oblak met was at the club team level, as the Slovenian number one goalkeeper did not play in June in the EC qualifying game in Helsinki.

In the last meeting a year ago, Hradecky’s Bayer Leverkusen came up with an important away draw in the last match of the group stage of the Champions League, helped by the Finn’s ghost saves. Oblak was also at his best in the match.

– Even before that encounter, I considered him a world-class goalkeeper. He also looked like a remotely good dude, which was confirmed! Hradecky once while sitting on the ground floor of a hotel in Ljubljana.

– After the first group meeting, we had a situation where we both sat for the doping test. I don’t know if we played that well then, not in my opinion! We exchanged a few words about it, says the Finnish guard.

Big men from small countries to succeed

Whether it was last fall’s doping test for one reason or another, the characteristics of the most followed men on Saturday are very similar and the top caste in the world. Big, athletic and skilful defenders who are good enough to play with their feet.

At least this is the opinion of the Finnish goalkeeper coach and former top goalkeeper Antti Niemi.

– Yes, I would put them in the same category. Both are smooth finishers capable of spectacular saves. There will be no easy goals or big mistakes for them, he combines the two’s strengths.

Both are also subject to the same requirement on behalf of the team. Both Finnish and Slovenian goalkeepers must always be at their best. The big names of small football countries are most often the object of a rain of balls from the opponents.

– Yes, it is required for Finland that the goalkeeper has to be successful. It doesn’t matter who we play against, if our goalkeeper played badly, it would make things really difficult for our team, Niemi emphasizes.

This brings us back to Saturday’s struggle. Finland needs at least a point from the match, so that the European Championship place is within reach. With a win, it is very likely. For Slovenia, only victory means anything. In order to reach the goal of both, goalkeeping at the top of the world is required.

“Last time it got stuck”

The big goal is for both Finland and Slovenia to make it to next summer’s European Championships in Germany.

The enthusiasm of Hradecky, who has played in Germany since 2015, can be seen when he is asked about the possibility of playing prestigious competitions in a country that is important to him. Or is the reason someone else?

– It’s a big deal, but it doesn’t really matter if we play in Germany or anywhere. In my opinion, the summer 2021 competitions were a bit delayed due to the corona period, so it would be so great to experience “normal competitions”. All of us have it in mind, those races are marked with a big X, that’s where we want to be, Hradecky says firmly.

Before that, on Saturday, other people’s dreams would have to be crushed. In this case, Jan Oblak’s and Slovenia’s.

– He will surely also go there for the prestigious competition, since Slovenia has not made it back there even once in his time. They also certainly have that goal in mind, the Finnish captain reflects.

VIP treatment for Oblak

Oblak is a big mountain between Finland and the EC dream. As mentioned, he did not play in the last match between the two countries in Helsinki in June. Finland won it 2–0.

The Slovenian has suffered badly from injuries this year. He lost two months of his season after injuring his neck in a hard collision in the Spanish league. In the last La Liga round before the national team break, he injured another in the back and had to avoid giving goal kicks.

However, he is now back in full playing condition. Unlike the other Slovenian players, Oblak got two days off from training this week.

– It wasn’t related to playing condition, but he is the VIP of his team. In addition to that, in the position of a goalkeeper, he does not have to be constantly honing tactical issues, the editor of the Slovenian sports media Ekipa24 Andrej Milikovic opened for Urheilu.

If the expected goalkeeper duel is to be seen on Saturday, there will be two defenders of the world’s top class in top form on the field. When the stakes are high, Hradecky and Oblak are at their best.