While many Borussia Dortmund stars are still looking for form or their favorite position, Julian Brandt seems to have finally found himself. The former BVB problem child is currently indispensable in the team of coach Edin Terzic. Does it work now with the World Cup ticket?
Whether Julian Brandt on Wednesday evening in the sportingly meaningless last Champions League group game of Dortmund Borussia at FC Copenhagen (from 9:00 p.m. in the LIVE ticker at sport.de) will be part of the black and yellow starting eleven is unclear.
Last weekend, the 26-year-old was substituted after 61 minutes after scoring the opening goal in the 2-1 win in Frankfurt. According to Edin Terzic, circulatory problems were responsible for this.
It’s quite possible that the trainer will give his protégé and a number of other regular players a break in Denmark.
regular player? brand? What didn’t seem to fit together at BVB for a long time is now a reality: In his fourth year with the Westphalian Bundesliga club, the creative mind is finally undisputed. What was once a noble joker with a pronounced tendency to phlegm has become a key success factor.
BVB coach Terzic gets enthusiastic about Brandt
“He’s been doing exceptionally well in the last few weeks and we hope he can continue like this,” enthused Terzic about Brandt’s qualities after the hard-fought and fortunate away win in Frankfurt.
The coach described his goal to make it 1-0 in the meantime: “He does it really well. The goal was perfect, but the diagonal ball before Malen was great. Jule then keeps calm, shoots great and puts us in the lead. “
Actions like this have significantly increased Brandt’s status at BVB after three seasons full of ups and downs. Just in time for the Winter World Cup in Qatar, the native of Bremen is in full swing, his tournament ticket is becoming more likely from week to week.
Improved defensive behavior as a base
Brandt also deserved this upswing because he worked vigorously on his weaknesses. Although the blond boy will probably no longer be a one-on-one monster in this life, he has clearly improved his work against the ball.
Also important: The all-rounder, who has a contract until 2024, is now using his enormous versatility to benefit the team. Brandt used to not feel really at home anywhere, today almost everywhere. Sometimes in attacking midfield, sometimes on the left flank, occasionally even on the right – the ball artist always knows how to stage himself and his teammates.
“He liked to play in the center, where he feels most comfortable, but I think he’s always had good moves on the wings,” Terzic recently emphasized.
BVB: World Cup participation for Julian Brandt within reach
The former problem child Brandt, who simply didn’t want to function in Dortmund like he did at Bayer Leverkusen for a long time, has become a reliable driving force this season at the latest, with seven goals in 17 competitive games in 2022/2023 impressively showing that.
National coach Hansi Flick is also likely to have followed the positive development of the professional, who was previously notorious as a fair-weather footballer.
So far, Brandt has only been a stand-by national player under the former Bayern Munich coach, but his chances of a nomination are good about a week before the 26-strong German World Cup squad is announced. On the one hand because of his strong form, on the other hand because in Gladbach’s Florian Neuhaus a direct competitor is injured.
In order to stay in the best shape himself, Brandt is now waving a little rest in Copenhagen. Since Borussia have already qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League, Edin Terzic will probably give some players from the second row the opportunity to prove themselves in the final group game.
Second row? brand? That was once.
Heiko Lütkehus