Born in Willich on the Lower Rhine, 60 kilometres from Leverkusen, Janis Blaswich joined the Borussia Mönchengladbach youth set-up at the age of 15. Three years later, in 2009, he made his debut for the Foals' reserves against the Bayer 04 reserves. Blaswich then stayed with Borussia M'gladbach II for a further four years before going out on loan to Dynamo Dresden (2015/16) and Hansa Rostock (2017/18) - and becoming a first-choice player at each of the third division clubs. Blaswich's performances helped Dresden to clinch the third division championship and promotion to Bundesliga 2.
He finally left Borussia Mönchengladbach for good in the 2018/19 season and moved abroad for the first time to Heracles Almelo. The 1.93 metre tall goalkeeper stayed in the Netherlands for four years, making more than 100 appearances in the Eredivisie during that period.
Blaswich returned to the Bundesliga in the summer of 2022 and joined RB Leipzig. Initially pencilled in as number two, he made a total of 64 competitive appearances for the Saxons, including a 2-0 win in the 2022/23 DFB Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt. He followed that up by also lifting the Supercup.
It was also during the spell at RB that national coach Julian Nagelsmann handed him his first call-up to the DFB squad, and Blaswich was part of the German national team for a total of four internationals.
Last season, Leverkusen's new signing played on loan at Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg. There, the 34-year-old was immediately appointed captain and led the team out in the first nine league games as well as in four Champions League matches. Blaswich missed out on playing against Bayer 04, but subsequently returned to action against Real Madrid, among other sides.
After various stints in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, Blaswich is now looking forward to "playing for the most high-calibre club in my home region and one of the best clubs in Germany. I'm absolutely thrilled about what lies ahead."
The traditional fan club meeting at the BayArena was held again this year. Management, coaches and players from Bayer 04 faced questions from over 400 fans on Saturday, 9 August in joint preparation for the new season. The key statements.
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The Werkself fell to defeat in their final friendly match of pre-season. The Black and Reds suffered a 2-0 (H-T: 1-0) defeat at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge. The hosts scored the first goal early on, with Estevao converting a rebound off the crossbar in the 18th minute. The second half was dominated by numerous substitutions on both sides, but the Blues still managed to increase their lead in the closing stages through Joao Pedro, who made it 2-0 in stoppage time (90’+1).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen and goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky are ending their successful seven-year partnership. The 35-year-old Finnish international goalkeeper is joining French Ligue 1 and Champions League club AS Monaco with immediate effect.
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With the departure of Lukas Hradecky, a model pro with not a trace of extravagance, eccentricity or egomania, Bayer 04 is losing not only an outstanding goalkeeper and captain after a successful and historic seven-year partnership, but also a very fine character.
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