Lukas Hradecky (; born 24 November 1989) is a Finnish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for and

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

both

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

and the Finland national team. Born in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, present-day Slovakia, Hradecky was raised in the Finnish city of

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

from the age of one. He began his senior club career playing for

TPS TPS or Tps may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Télévision Par Satellite, a French satellite television company *Third-person shooter, a game genre * Torsonic Polarity Syndrome, in ''South Park'' animation * Trailer Park Sex, a band from ...

, before signing with

Esbjerg fB Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (; commonly known as Esbjerg fB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional Association football, football club based in Esbjerg, West Jutland, Jylland, that plays in the Danish 1st Division, 1st division, the sec ...

at age 19 in 2009. After winning his first trophy, the

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991, the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the for ...

, during his third season in Denmark, he helped Esbjerg win the

Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...

in 2013. Hradecky was named Finnish Footballer of the Year by the

Football Association of Finland The Football Association of Finland (, SPL; ) is the governing body of football (soccer), football and futsal in Finland. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907. The SPL organises the Finland national football team, men's and Finland women's ...

in three consecutive seasons (2016 to 2018). In the 2023–24 season, under the management of

Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid. He is regarded as o ...

, Hradecky captained

to their first ever

championship title. Formerly an international at under-17, under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels, Hradecky made his debut for Finland in May 2010 at the age of 20. He appeared in nine out of ten of Finland's

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

qualification matches and helped the national team secure its first ever appearance at the

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

Club career

TPS

Hradecky began his career in

Turun Palloseura Turun Palloseura, commonly known as TPS, is a professional association football, football club based in Turku, Finland. Since 2024, the men's team competes in Ykkösliiga, the second highest tier. Nicknamed "''Tepsi''", the club was founded i ...

, a club in

, where he grew up. In 2008, he played in the International Karel Stegeman U-19 Youth Tournament in

Ruurlo Ruurlo is a village and former municipality in the province of Gelderland in the eastern part of the Netherlands. The town has a station on the Zutphen to Winterswijk railway line, and is served by trains every half-hour in both directions. In ...

, Netherlands, where he won the prize for best goalkeeper.

Esbjerg

On 10 January 2009, Hradecky transferred to

and signed a four-year contract with the five-time Danish champions. On 3 August 2010 it was announced that Hradecky had been called to be tested for a week by

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

to strengthen their goalkeeping department after the departure of

Tom Heaton Thomas David Heaton (born 15 April 1986) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He is currently a free agent. Heaton began his career in the Manchester United F ...

. However, he chose to seek the chance to be the primary keeper in Esbjerg instead. After the 2012–13 Superliga season Hradecky's contract with Esbjerg fB expired, and an agreement to prolong the contract was not reached.

Brøndby

On 12 June 2013, Hradecky joined

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

club

Brøndby IF Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a Danish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Brøndbyvester. Brøndby IF denotes the professional football section of Brøndbyernes ...

on a four-year contract on a free transfer. On 21 June 2013 Hradecky made his debut in the Superliga in a match against

Vestsjælland West Zealand County () is a former counties of Denmark, county (Danish language, Danish: ''Amt (subnational entity), amt'') in the west-central part of the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The county was f ...

Eintracht Frankfurt

In August 2015 Hradecky transferred from Brøndby to German

team

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

. The value of the transfer was never published, but according to newspapers Eintracht paid €2.5 million to Brøndby. In 2017–18, Hradecky's last season with Eintracht, he was voted Bundesliga Goalkeeper of the Season as the club won the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

title.

Bayer Leverkusen

In May 2018,

announced the signing of Hradecky for the 2018–19 season on a free transfer. He agreed a contract until 2023. Hradecky made his debut in Leverkusen on 15 September 2018 in a match against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. Since the 2021–22 season, Hradecky has captained Leverkusen. On 6 August 2022, he was sent off during Leverkusen's defeat against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

for handball after reaching out to grab the ball in front of his box. On 30 August 2022, Hradecky renewed his contract with Leverkusen, signing a deal until the end of June 2026. In the first half of the 2023–24 season under the manager

, Hradecky helped his team to a flying start leading the

with a streak of 16 league games without losses (25 games unbeaten in all competitions combined), recording seven clean sheets, which is the most of any goalkeepers in the league in the ongoing season. On 3 February 2024, in a 2–0 away win against

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

, Hradecky had his 80th clean sheet in 280 Bundesliga matches in his career, which is the most of any foreign-born goalkeepers in the league's entire history. On 14 April 2024, after a 5–0 home win against

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

, Hradecky and Leverkusen secured the club's first ever Bundesliga championship title, five rounds prior to season ending. A month later, on 5 May, he featured in his 292nd Bundesliga match in a 5–1 away win over his former club

, breaking

Yann Sommer Yann Sommer (born 17 December 1988) is a Swiss professional association football, footballer who plays as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Serie A club Inter Milan. Known for his exceptional reflexes and high agility, Sommer is ...

's record to become the foreign goalkeeper with the most appearances in the German top tier. On 12 May 2024, in a 5–0 away win against

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

, Hradecky had his 16th clean sheet in the season in all competitions combined, and helped Leverkusen to stay unbeaten for the record 50 consecutive games in the 2023–24 season. Hradecky and Leverkusen also won the

2023–24 DFB-Pokal The 2023–24 DFB-Pokal was the 81st season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The competition began on 11 Au ...

, keeping a clean sheet after beating

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...

1–0 in the German Cup final on 25 May 2024.Lukas Hradecky torjui vajaalle joutuneen Leverkusenin tuplamestaruuteen – Xabi Alonso teki historiaa

Yle Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...

, 25 May 2024 In June 2024, Hradecky was named the 9th best goalkeeper in the world, in the top 100 list by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. On 17 August 2024, Hradecky and Leverkusen were crowned the

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

champions after winning

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

on penalties, completing Leverkusen's first ever triple. On 19 October, in a match against his former club

, Hradecky made his 300th Bundesliga appearance, as the first foreign goalkeeper in the history of the German top tier. On 25 January 2025, after a 2–2 draw against

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

, Hradecky became only the second player in the Bundesliga history to have played at least 50 consecutive league matches unbeaten. His streak of unbeaten matches continued to 54, which is two matches short of the Bundesliga record that was set by Jérôme Boateng.

International career

Finland youth teams

Hradecky earned several caps for Finland on different junior levels. He made his junior level national team debut when he was 16 years old on 16 November 2006 in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in a match against Greece. He was a member of the Finland national under-20 football team and represented the team at the Valentin A. Granatkin Memorial Tournament. Hradecky was selected to

Finland national under-21 football team The Finland national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Finland. The team qualified for the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, UEFA Euro U21 Championship final tournament for the first time in 2009 UEFA E ...

for

2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship began on 15 June 2009, and was the 17th UEFA European Under-21 Championship. This was the first tournament after the competition reverted to a two-year format, following the single-year 2007 UEFA Europ ...

but he had to withdraw due to a knee injury. He was the first choice keeper for Finland's under-21 side during the 2011 UEFA European U21 Championship qualifications. Lukas hradecky

Finland first team

In January 2010 Hradecky was called to the

Finland national football team The Finland national football team (, ) represents Finland in men's international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland, the governing body for football in Finland, which was founded in 1907. The team ...

by Stuart Baxter to face

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in a friendly at

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, Spain. Hradecky was at the bench the whole match. He finally made his first team debut on 21 May 2010, when he replaced

Jukka Lehtovaara Jukka Lehtovaara (born 15 March 1988) is a Finnish retired football goalkeeper. Club career He made his debut in 2006. During the 2007 Lehtovaara gained his place as the starting goalie for the team. After the season, he was nominated as the g ...

for the second half in a 2–0 away loss against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. He played his first

qualification game on 3 June 2011 when

Mixu Paatelainen Mika-Matti Petteri "Mixu" Paatelainen (born 3 February 1967) is a Finnish former professional football player and manager who is currently serving as the sporting director of Scottish club The Spartans. He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for ...

chose him to the starting line up against

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

in Serravalle. During autumn of 2011 he established himself as a regular in the Finland national team and appeared in the UEFA European Championship qualification matches against

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Hradecky appeared in three friendly matches during Finland's preparation for

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

. He was chosen to starting line up in the first qualification match against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, but remained as a substitute for the rest of the campaign as Niki Mäenpää established himself as the number one choice. Hradecky was called up for the

pre-tournament friendly match against

on 29 May 2021. He played in all three international games at the

tournament. Finland was placed 3rd in

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

following a 2–0 defeat to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

on 21 June 2021. They were subsequently knocked out of the tournament. Hradecky was awarded as the tournament's best goalkeeper of the group stage. On 7 June 2025, Hradecky marked his 100th international appearance for Finland, in a World Cup qualifying match against the Netherlands.

Personal life

Hradecky was born in the Kramáre area of

. In September 1990, his father, a volleyball player, moved to Finland and started playing for , based in Turku. That winter, the family settled in Runosmäki. His brothers

Tomas Tomas may refer to: People * Tomás (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese, and Gaelic given name * Tomas (given name), a Swedish, Dutch, and Lithuanian given name * Tomáš, a Czech and Slovak given name * Tomàs, a Catalan given name and surname * ...

and

Matej Matej is a given name that originates from the Slavic nations of Central and Eastern Europe. It is one of the most common male names in Slovakia and Slovenia, and is also common in Croatia. The name is originally derived from Matthias the Apostle. ...

are also professional footballers. Hradecky has a dual citizenship of Finland and Slovakia. He speaks Finnish, Slovak, English, Danish, German and Swedish. In January 2024, it was reported that Hradecky had invested in the restaurant business in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, along with

Teemu Pukki Teemu Eino Antero Pukki (born 29 March 1990) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Veikkausliiga club HJK and the Finland national team. Pukki began his career with KTP and made his debut on senior level on 23 June ...

and his brother Matej. Hradecky has been a minority shareholder of his former club

(TPS). In mid-August 2024, it was reported that Hradecky had increased his share and is currently one of the club's majority owners. He also started as an advisor of the board of TPS.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Esbjerg fB *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

: 2011–12 Eintracht Frankfurt *

: 2017–18 Bayer Leverkusen *

: 2023–24 *DFB-Pokal: 2023–24 *

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Finland * Baltic Cup runner-up:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Individual *

Promising Player of the Year: 2007 *Football Association of Finland: Finnish Footballer of the Year: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024 *Best Goalkeeper Award at International Karel Stegeman U-19 Youth Tournament: 2008 *

Goalkeeper of the Year: 2010 *

Player of the Year: 2010 * Danish Superliga Goalkeeper of the Year: 2013 *

Best Player of the Spring Season: 2013 *

Best Player of the Season: 2013 * Finnish Sports Journalists Footballer of the Year: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2023 *

Finnish Sports Personality of the Year The Finnish Athlete of the Year, Sports Personality of the Year (; ) is chosen annually since 1947 by the national sports journalism, sports journalists. In addition, the best female athlete () was nominated each year until 2009. Winners ...

: 2020 *

Team of the Season: 2017–18

Notes

References

External links

Bayer Leverkusen official profile

Lukas Hradecky
– SPL competition record * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hradecky, Lukas 1989 births Living people Footballers from Bratislava Men's association football goalkeepers Finnish men's footballers 21st-century Finnish sportsmen Finland men's international footballers Finland men's under-21 international footballers Slovak men's footballers Turun Palloseura footballers Åbo IFK players Esbjerg fB players Brøndby IF players Eintracht Frankfurt players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Danish Superliga players Danish 1st Division players Bundesliga players UEFA Euro 2020 players Finnish expatriate men's footballers Slovak expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Finnish people of Slovak descent Finland men's youth international footballers Naturalized citizens of Finland Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Turun Palloseura non-playing staff Turun Pallokerho players FIFA Men's Century Club