Alonso’s departure is not an issue internally
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Three titles are still possible for Bayer Leverkusen this season. From the outside, everyone at the Werkself has been stacking low in recent weeks, but if no trophy comes out in the summer, that would be disappointing, captain Lukas Hradecky now admitted. The 34-year-old, who leads the clean sheet statistics of Bundesliga goalkeepers with the fewest goals conceded, spoke in detail about the possible championship, Leverkusen’s secret to success, transfers and his “strongest season in the six years I have been here.”
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Leverkusen is leading the table with an eight-point lead, is the clear favorite in the cup semi-finals and is also one of the favorites in the Europa League. “I don’t care what anyone else is doing. But from the current perspective it would be a disappointment not to have something in our hands at the end of May. “You have to be that honest,” Hradecky expressed the club’s ambitions in an interview with “Kicker”. The team played “an incredible round, yes. And of course we also see what is currently happening behind us. But nothing will change our direction in Leverkusen, no matter what happens elsewhere: we will stay with ourselves!”
The 90-time national player for Finland certainly did not expect Bayer to soar in this form before the season: “To be honest, no one could have expected such a round from us, not a single person. Neither do we ourselves. We already knew what we could do. The preparation felt good, because of the players who came, because of Xabi Alonso’s philosophy, which has become increasingly clear in our game. But we are not prisoners of a single playing style, the variability is there. With different personnel constellations: With Jeremie Frimpong or Odilon Kossounou at right back, with Jeremie or Nathan Tella on the right – we have so many variations that we can offer for the respective game. It is the sum of these things that determines our success.”
Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky praises transfers – “Granite is a glue”
When asked about what has changed at Bayer in recent years, the keeper explained: “It’s not for nothing that people talk about the importance of daily work on the pitch and in the dressing room. There has been a lot of improvement there. The balance, the professionalism. The transfers that Simon Rolfes and Fernando Carro made… I just say Granit Xhaka – that’s the most important reason. Back then, Robert Andrich, Jonathan Tah and I mainly had to give the interviews. Now, at least externally, I no longer have so much responsibility, I can rest more within myself, concentrate more on my work and on internally more important things than everything externally to explain. I’m quite an emotional guy. And with my quick tongue, it may not have always gone over so well when I criticized. Now I can celebrate the victories in a relaxed manner and don’t have to explain everything in front of the microphones. That’s good for me.”
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When it came to Xhaka, Hradecky really went into raptures: “Granite is a glue for this team. A glue so good that you can do things together even off the pitch. He played in England, so he has a good connection with Jeremie and Nathan, who come from there.” But the squad also has a beneficial diversity: “The types of players are special. I haven’t mentioned Alejandro Grimaldo yet: what he brings to our game! Or Jonas Hofmann with his experience of how he moves around the rooms. Tah is having the season of his life – it’s easy to forget half of it because we have so many guys. “
The speculation that has recently arisen again in the wake of the impending dismissal of Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel about the impending departure of coach Alonso does not affect the team. “We don’t deal with it in the team. We know he arouses interest, it would be strange if he didn’t. I begrudge him everything. I don’t know any contract details or gentlemen’s agreements with the club. Xabi wants, and it’s obvious, to achieve his goals with Bayer 04, together with all of us. He knows that the whole club, every single player and employee, will do everything for it, and will do everything just for him. Anyone who feels that and is a guy like Xabi would find it very difficult to say goodbye lightly. I am convinced of that,” said Hradecky.
When asked whether he still saw himself as Bayer Kreuz’s number one in the coming season given the competition from Matej Kovar, who was signed from Manchester, the Finn replied: “I can only continue to ensure that with my performances. But my clock ticks a little faster than Matej’s. That’s just the way it is: The boy is 23 – where was I when I was 23? In Denmark. All I can do is play and hope I continue to do so well. But I know that at some point the younger ones will take over.”
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