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“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.
Twelve Werkself players have been selected for their national teams in the final international break of the year, with the Leverkusen's international players competing in the final group matches in the UEFA Nations League, in qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations. We round up all the results involving Bayer 04 players here.
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Five players in the Bayer 04 Women squad have been selected for the Germany U23s for two international fixtures. That was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday afternoon.
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Bayer 04’s Bundesliga game at home to St. Pauli on Saturday, 7 December will be the next district matchday of the season, with the district of Hitdorf being the stage for numerous activities in the week building up to the fixture against the promoted side.
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The Bayer 04 Fanzone opens in two days time on Wednesday, 20 November in the South Stand at the BayArena. Bayer 04 fans will be able to enjoy a state-of-the-art, interactive shopping and fan experience covering more than 700 square metres. Black and Reds supporters are warmly welcome to spend an exciting day in this brand-new area at the stadium.
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It is already a fact that the Bayer 04 Women have had their best Hinrunde ever. The Werkself are fourth in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga on 23 points two behind the top team. Tickets are now on sale for the final games of the year. The tickets for the last two home matches in 2024 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium are available now. First up on Friday, 6 December (kick-off: 18.30 CET) are last season's runners-up VfL Wolfsburg and that is followed by the home game at the start of the Rückrunde against SC Freiburg on Saturday, 14 December (12.00 CET).
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