“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.
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
Show more
Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
Show more
High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
Show more
The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
Show more
They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
Show more
