“We are very happy to have brought in an outstanding goalkeeper. Lukas Hradecky is a brilliant Bundesliga keeper, has great experience as an international and he was one of the absolute top players at Frankfurt. He certainly demonstrated his qualities in the Cup final win,” declared Bayer 04 sporting director Rudi Völler.
For the 36-time international, the move to Bayer 04 is “an important step in my career. Bayer 04 are a top club in the Bundesliga and the team plays attractive, attacking football and regularly feature in Europe,” said Hradecky. “I’d like to continue to develop at this level and I’m sure we can achieve a lot at Leverkusen in the coming years.”
In the eyes of sporting manager Jonas Boldt, Hradecky is, “one of the best keepers in the Bundesliga. On the one hand, he has impressive reflexes and is particularly strong in one-on-ones,” declared Boldt who not only sees the qualities of the Finn with Slovakian roots in his ability to play in goal. “Lukas is a very positive and open person who can take the lead but is also very much a team player. As an experienced and open-minded pro, who speaks several languages including German, he will bring stability to our young team on and off the pitch. We very much looking forward to the next few years with him.”
Hradecky, the third Finnish player at Bayer 04 after Sami Hyypiä and Joel Pohjanpalo, was born in Bratislava on 24 November 1989. Shortly after that, his family moved to the city of Turku in southern Finland. There he spent his early career with the local club Turun Palloseura. After making his professional debut he moved to Denmark. The 1.90 m tall goalkeeper played for Esbjerg fB for three and a half years before moving on to top Danish club Brondby IF the two seasons. There he was spotted by Eintracht Frankfurt and in 2015 he signed for the Hesen club.
In his first season, Hradecky helped keep Frankfurt in the Bundesliga and in the following two campaigns they finished eleventh and eighth. The team coached by Niko Kovac reached the DFB Cup final in 2017 and 2018 – with the 3-1 win against Bayern Munich at the weekend being the high point. In his three years at Frankfurt, Lukas Hradecky only missed one Bundesliga game due to suspension.
There won’t just be plenty of excitement on the pitch as Bayer 04 host Borussia Dortmund at the BayArena at 18:30 CET on Saturday. Outside the stadium there will be collection points for food donations to the Leverkusen Foodbank, which will also benefit from the profits of a jersey raffle in the Fanwelt afterwards. There will also be a minute’s silence before kick-off following the passing of long-time Werkself player Dieter Herzog, before two fan clubs are honoured for their decades-long support at half-time and fans receive a talk about Orange Day, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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Bayer 04 go into the first of two successive clashes with Borussia Dortmund boosted by their Champions League win at Manchester City. Ahead of the Bundesliga top match on Saturday, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET), coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the tight schedule, BVB's strengths and returning squad members.
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Borussia Dortmund are doing very well in terms of points and results in the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League. BVB have only suffered two defeats to date this term. Now coach Niko Kovac's team are away to the Werkself on Saturday night, 29 November (kick-off: 18:30 CET) in the top match on Bundesliga matchday 12. The two teams meet again three days later in the DFB Pokal Round of 16 tie in Dortmund. Two very competitive encounters are on the cards. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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The Bayer 04 Women clcoked up a 3-2 win in a friendly against Twente Enschede on Thursday afternoon in the last international break of 2025. In drizzle, Lilla Turanyi (16’), Kristin Kögel (65’) and Paulina Bartz (69’) scored the goals for the Werkself against the Dutch Eredivisie Vrouwen leaders, who are still unbeaten in the league.
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