Monaco's Lukas Hradekcy: Finnish not finished

Lukas Hradecky has had to contend with two injuries this season, however, when available, he has excelled in goal for AS Monaco. At 36, he is showing no signs of slowing down.

New experiences for Hradecky, good and bad

When you're a footballer aged 36, new experiences are a rarity. Hradecky has had a couple this season, though. One of them was welcome. "The trip to New Zealand was beautiful. It was nice to experience something extraordinary. I have over 100 caps for Finland and I think I have played Hungary five times, Bosnia 10 times, so it was nice to experience something new," joked Hradecky on Friday, ahead of Sunday's match against Olympique de Marseille.

Other new experiences have not been so positive. Hradecky does not have a history of injuries. Prior to joining Monaco in the summer, he had missed 14 games in his entire career. However, in this one season, he has already missed 31 games due to two separate knee injuries.

"It wasn't the season that I had pictured for myself," admitted Hradecky. "Both of my injuries were unlucky, due to contact, not muscular. It is not the way that I wanted to come here."

In the final sprint in Ligue 1 McDonald's the Finnish goalkeeper is looking to make up for lost time. He returned against Brest in mid-March and kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win. He also kept goal as the Principality club edged past Lyon just before the international break.

His performance against Marseille on Sunday proved decisive. Whilst Folarin Balogun will get the plaudits for his peach of a goal, lobbing the helpless Geronimo Rulli, it was the goalkeeper at the other end who decided this match.

Hradecky made two big saves, firstly from Hamed Traoré and then from Igor Paixao. On both occasions, he made himself big to deny the OM attackers. His heroics continued in the second half. By the time the full-time whistle was blown, Hradecky had made an impressive seven saves and helped his side to a win that puts them right back in the mix for European qualification.

'I am not finished at Monaco' - Hradecky

"Today, we are talking about a goalkeeper who earned us points. He allowed us to have the game that we wanted, with some important stops. He was decisive. I think that an important goalkeeper can bring you results, can bring you three, four, five, six points over the course of the season by being decisive," said his manager, Sébastien Pocognoli, post-match.

And, once again important for his side, Hradecky is looking towards next season and beyond. "I am not finished here. I hope that I can stay healthy now and help the team possibly next season and the season after. I have a contract and I want to stay here for next season. That's my goal," said Hradecky, Finnish, but certainly not finished.

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