Julian Schieber was under contract with Borussia Dortmund for two years. Between 2012 and 2014 he played 57 competitive games for BVB, but never actually got beyond the status of the joker. Nevertheless, the ex-striker looks back on “wonderful years” with the Westphalians.
This is what Julian Schieber himself said in an interview on the BVB YouTube channel.
“It will always remain black and yellow in my heart. They were two wonderful years. They were intense years. Many people say it didn’t work out so well. But no, I don’t want to miss a day of these two years,” said the now 36-year-old, who ended his career as a professional footballer in the summer of 2020.
In 2024, the former Bundesliga striker joined the district league team SG Oppenweiler-Strümmerlbach.
During his time at Borussia Dortmund he was a backup for star strikers such as Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. In the two seasons for the black and yellow team, he was only in the starting line-up ten times for then head coach Jürgen Klopp, about whom Schieber still spoke highly.
“I had the feeling that I was recognized and accepted there. There was such a great team feeling and cohesion. The team was so intact and so impulsive,” said Schieber about his team at the time.
He scored six goals in the black and yellow jersey before leaving the club for Hertha BSC in the summer of 2014. Schieber was then under contract with FC Augsburg, his last stop in a total of twelve professional years.
Schieber was in the 2013 Champions League final
“It was a big leap for me as a young player. I asked myself the question: Do I dare to do this? Is it perhaps a step too big for me? But this huge opportunity, you’re just looking forward to it,” said Schieber of his perspective at the time.
Due to numerous injuries during his playing days, Backnanger was repeatedly faced with many doubts. His vulnerability was partly his own fault, as Schieber admitted in retrospect: “I was injured relatively often or had difficult times. As a young player, I didn’t realize that the body is the capital that you have to pay more attention to.”
Schieber experienced his career highlights in his first BVB year in the Champions League, when he scored his first goal in the premier class against Manchester City, was on the field in the last-minute miracle against FC Malaga and was also substituted on in the final at Wembley (1:2 against FC Bayern).
“Those were also moments that still felt good in retrospect,” Schieber now looks back with a lot of pride on the bitter final in London 2013, when BVB only conceded the decisive goal in the 89th minute.
