"I would have loved to have been a professional in the 1990s"

Lukas Hradecky has been playing in the Bundesliga for six years, and in 2018 the goalkeeper moved from Eintracht Frankfurt to Bayer Leverkusen. The Finn is captain of the Werkself this season.

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In an interview with SPOX and Goal, Hradecky talks about the dramatic collapse of Christian Eriksen during the first European Championship game in Finland’s history and criticizes the associations for the fact that there is no official protocol for such exceptional situations.

In addition, the 31-year-old talks about a decisive intoxication at the beginning of his professional career and explains why the social media activities of some football professionals are a thorn in his side.

Mr. Hradecky, you played with Finland for the first time at a European Championship in June and becamen part of the saddest game: Christian Eriksen collapsed against Denmark, the scenes were dramatic. How often do you think back to it?

Lukas Hradecky: It is definitely still present with me, because it was an extremely emotional roller coaster ride for my teammates and me. At the end of the day we had our first victory at a European Championship, although we would of course have wished it under different circumstances. None of this was easy to process.

How do you remember the moment when Eriksen went down?

Hradecky: It was just awful. The scene itself looked very strange. Despite my distance from the action, I quickly realized that it was something serious. Christian was completely gone. You are simply not prepared for it and you do not know what to do in such a situation. So I say: Hats off to what Simon Kjaer and Kasper Schmeichel, but also all the other Danish players, have achieved in these moments.

What did you do in the long minutes before Eriksen was evacuated?

Hradecky: We talked and discussed, also with the Danes. I knew some of them from my time in the super league. After a few minutes, we learned that it was really something with his heart. The fact that Christian was able to be resuscitated so quickly by the paramedics is a strong sign, especially in times of the pandemic, of the importance of everyday heroes who otherwise fly under the public’s radar.

What happened in the catacombs during the 107 minute break when the game was interrupted?

Hradecky: I have no idea who exactly decided that we have to go to the dressing room first. There we took off our shoes. We didn’t expect the game to continue. Then we all sat on the cell phone and looked online to see what was happening now and what was going to happen next. At some point the two captains met in the players tunnel, but I still don’t know what options the Danes even had. But we said to each other that we would agree to whatever they propose. Finally the referee came in and said we were going to continue playing.

How did you feel about that?

Hradecky: I was honestly a bit shocked because I didn’t think this was going to happen. On the other hand, it would have been very difficult for everyone to sleep over it one night and play the next day. Nobody would have turned a blind eye anyway. Once it became clear that the Danes had contacted Christian and he was conscious again, it was probably best to continue the game.

Can you guess how you would feel if this had happened to one of your teammates?

Hradecky: Of course, I can’t fully guess it, but it would have been a lot more difficult – especially if I had a strong personal relationship with this teammate. Everyone saw, for example, that Simon Kjaer was totally off the track and still completely shocked.

To what extent should FIFA and UEFA adopt a rule for such exceptional situations, which defines irrevocably what must happen after such events?

Hradecky: Something like that has to happen, no question about it. There needs to be a clearly defined protocol of what to do when this happens. That would help a lot for everyone involved. It should not be the case that ultimately traumatized players have to think about what should happen. Football is about people, as this case has once again clearly shown. They are most important. So you need a clear rule that puts the human and not the commercial perspective in the foreground.

The game ended with Finland’s historic victory, you saved a penalty from Pierre-Emil Höjbjerg. Given the adverse circumstances for the Danes, did you consider letting Höjbjerg’s shot pass?

Hradecky: No, that was clearly not an option for me, even if of course I felt extremely sorry for them. If the captains had decided that the game would be 0-0, we would have taken it. But after it was said that the game would continue, the Danes came out of the locker room with a lot of force and pressure to bring Christian victory. It sounds stupid in this context, of course, but when you’re on the pitch, you’re a professional and do everything you can to win. The Danes did that too, it wasn’t meant to be for them in this game. What they did afterwards at this European Championship was absolutely great.

Finland played in Copenhagen and twice in front of a good 20,000 spectators in St. Petersburg, where the delta variant of the corona virus was rampant and infected numerous Finnish fans. How did you feel about the EM in this regard?

Hradecky: Of course, I had worries, so my family didn’t even travel with me. That’s what happened to the majority of Finns, most of them stayed at home and were generally very disciplined. Had the circumstances been normal, all of Finland would have gone to the games.

Personally, were you afraid of an infection?

Hradecky: No. I had both vaccinations before the tournament. Nothing happened during our preparatory games either, everything seemed very certain to me within this bubble. Our doctor was pretty strict too. (laughs)

But you can understand the criticism expressed by many people that the European Championship aroused with regard to the pandemic situation in Europe?

Hradecky: Clear. Unfortunately, some fans who took the risk got infected. It was also obvious that from an epidemiological point of view it makes no sense to let 60,000 spectators into the stadium, as in England. Wembley was a pure corona hotspot. But there is nothing we players can do about it, we are very often just puppets in this business. These things are decided several levels above us by the associations and governments. We don’t have a choice, even if it’s a lot more fun with spectators in the stadium.

How was the return of spectators for you after you basically had to do without the whole season in the Bundesliga?

Hradecky: The Bundesliga season wasn’t fun in that regard. For me, that really affected my emotional life and my motivation. It was very hard to get hot for the games because I just love the human contact. I also moved to Germany to soak up the emotions of the fans. Thanks to her presence during the European Championship, I fell in love with football all over again. I really have to say that, the fans were just gone too long.

Was it boring to have to live in a bubble during the European Championship as it did in the final spurt of the Bundesliga season?

Hradecky: No. We have such a great group, some of whom have known each other for years. If you are then allowed to experience such a tournament together with your compatriots for the first time, then it is a highlight despite Corona and feels like a school trip. Of course we would have wished it different. If there had been no Corona and nothing would have happened to Christian, we would have gone one hundred percent to downtown Copenhagen and celebrated the victory. However, Corona did not ruin the experience itself.

How did you kill your time, are you a Playstation type?

Hradecky: Not at all. I was often in the sauna or swimming, and there was also a lot of Frisbee golf played. We had plenty of opportunities to pass the time. But you have also spent a lot of time alone in your room.