Until Sunday’s departure for North Germany, the Werkself are commuting in two coaches between the training ground on Bismarckstraße and the hotel where they eating and being looked after, holding meetings and also spending their leisure time. “In this crisis there are people facing difficult challenges. Complaining and having fun always have their place in a football team. But it’s going well and we’ll easily get through this week,” explained Hradecky in an online media interview after today’s trading session.
The Finn prefers to concentrate on the forthcoming restart in Germany’s top flight. The level in the sessions is already very high in spite of the many weeks without full training sessions. “You can feel everybody’s excitement. We’re in a good position in the table and want to take that momentum into the rest of the season,” said the 30-year-old who highlighted the necessary increased communication on the pitch. “It was an important issue for us before the games were suspended and is not even more significant with the quiet of the stadiums with games played behind closed doors.”
The 1.92 metre giant does not yet know what sort of atmosphere awaits him and his teammates. The away game at Bremen’s Wohninvest Weserstadion will be the first match behind closed doors in Hradecky’s career to date. “Of course, we would prefer to play in front of fans. But, on Monday, it might be a slight advantage for us that Bremen won’t be playing in front of a full house at home,” explained the number one keeper who is hoping for more luck on the pitch for the Black and Reds compared with the game earlier in the season.

In the 2-2 draw at the end of October in front of a sold-out BayArena, Hradecky had to pick the ball out of his net twice from deflected shots from Milot Rashica (40’) and Davy Klaassen (48’). “That match was probably during our poorest phase of this season,” said the Finn. For the match in Bremen, he is hoping Werder feel “a bit more pressure” given their current position in the table – Bremen are 17th at the moment. Hradecky was however unable to make a prediction of whether favourites or underdogs would have more wins in games behind closed doors.
The Werkself keeper is in positive mood ahead of restarting the season with his team on Monday and rounding off matchday 26: “We will watch everything on TV at the hotel at the weekend. And after the games, I’ll definitely ask my former teammates at Frankfurt how it was so we’re prepared.”


Sandwiched between their UEFA Champions League knockout play-off tie against Olympiacos, Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action on Saturday with a trip to Union Berlin (kick-off: 15:30 CET). It’s a fixture of contrasting styles, with Leverkusen preferring to control the play while Union look to remain compact and counter. The Berliners are therefore suited to facing top teams, but they have only ever managed to win one of 16 meetings with the Werkself, who are looking for a fifth clean sheet of 2026 but will need to beware the home side’s threat from set pieces. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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After six wins in seven games, the Werkself will be looking to continue their winning run in the capital at FC Union Berlin. Coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke ahead of the match on Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET) about defenders, the short preparation time and the condition of the pitch at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
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Union Berlin have performed particularly well against the top clubs in the Bundesliga this season with a draw at home to Bayern Munich and wins against VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig. This Saturday, 21 February (kick-off: 15:30 CET), the Irons now welcome the Werkself, currently sixth in the table, to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. And the hosts are in desperate need of a win. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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It took exactly 60 minutes for the Werkself to take the lead through a perfectly finished counter-attack by Patrik Schick in the first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-off at Olympiacos. Referring to the meeting in the league phase and the initially squandered opportunities, coach Kasper Hjulmand said afterwards: "I thought: 'Oh no, déjà-vu.'" But after the opening goal, it took just 144 seconds for the Czech to spark more wild celebrations among those in black and red in the Greek cauldron, when Schick nodded in Alejandro Grimaldo's corner. Much to the delight of the Bayer 04 fans, his teammates and his coach, who had warm words for the striker in the aftermath. The Werkself Review.
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