Lukas Hradecky is getting the most amazing crown of his club career. Small moments on the training ground show his greatness, writes Urheilu’s Jussi Vainikka from Leverkusen.
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.
Hradecky gets the honor of breaking a 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.
Read Jussi Vainika’s comment in full here.