Captain writes for BILD newspaper. - Hradecky describes the most heartfelt experiences of his life.
Hey there, guess what? I'm finding it hard to grasp the true extent of our accomplishments with the two titles and our recent final appearance.
It's every player's dream come true.
I recall mentioning on ZDF Sportstudio that my daughter Lily only knows Bayer 04 Leverkusen as a champion. She was born in January. My most memorable moments in life include giving away the championship trophy and the cup as the team's captain alongside my culmination as a player.
However, it's important to recall that our situation in Leverkusen was quite different a few years ago. We ranked second to last, despite having a capable team. That's not too long ago.
Our die-hard fans were going through a tough time in those days, and they were instrumental in propelling us throughout last season. I was desperate to give the cup to the North Curve. They've been our biggest supporters, and they deserved the recognition.
The initial joyous transfer rumors last summer provided a major boost to the team. Players like Granit Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo, and Jonas Hofmann joined us. We noticed this positive atmosphere building up during our Austria training camp. We were maintaining consistently high levels of training and developing a new sense of determination in the locker room.
A burning desire for success grew in us, an emotion I've rarely felt before.
Our coach, Xabi Alonso, couldn't have predicted problems better. The opposition assumed that our African Cup absences would negatively affect our performance. However, we regarded it as a chance to become an even stronger squad, given the absence of our key players. Xabi's decision to stay with Leverkusen brought sheer happiness to the squad, and it was only natural for us to applaud in the dressing room.
Xabi makes every player feel essential. We're all adapting well to our success. It's no longer possible to manage a full season with just 11 players. We sure tugged our victory through the incredible 53 games spotless.
Xabi's got life-saving solutions waiting for any challenge to be presented. He has a knack for anticipating his opponents' plans and finding ways to counter them.
With Xabi, every player feels they're an integral part of the squad.
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Source: symclub.org