Julian Brandt: Replacing Jude Bellingham will require many Dortmund players to step up
Despite losing out on the Bundesliga title on the final matchday of the 2022/23 season, Julian Brandt seems to have finally emerged as a proper star at Borussia Dortmund and a leader on and off the pitch. Brandt spoke to a select group of journalists at Dortmund’s US Tour about how he dealt with losing out on the title on the final matchday of the season, his new role at Dortmund, goals for next season, and whether his club can compensate for Jude Bellingham’s departure to Real Madrid.
“No,” Julian Brandt said when asked whether he was able to quickly overcome the dramatic events of the final Bundesliga matchday, where Dortmund threw away a title that seemed all but secure with a 2-2 draw against Mainz. “I think I speak for everyone that we all had it in our heads for four or five days. I had the spontaneous desire to go away, somewhere where I could just look at the ocean and be left alone. A place where you have time to think.”
But despite the disappointment, Brandt felt that he quickly wanted to move on from the events that took place. In fact, Brandt pointed out that the schedule of the last few years with a quick succession of games meant that he had developed an attitude of quickly moving on from defeats. “Because of that, it felt relatively easy to switch and be in a better mood and focus on the next task,” Brandt said. “I met up with Nico Schlotterbeck on holiday, and we said: ‘Holidays are great, and we should force ourselves to relax, but if it were up to us, we would rather have the game against Köln as quickly as possible.’ For me [losing out on the title] turned from an absolute disappointment to a motivation within just a few days.”
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It isn’t surprising that Brandt wants to return to playing football as soon as possible. After all, playing in a new role as a no.8 under head coach Edin Terzic, Brandt managed nine goals and eight assists in 32 Bundesliga games—the most since he joined Dortmund from Leverkusen in 2019. The season before joining Dortmund, Brandt scored seven goals and 14 assists in 33 Bundesliga games for Leverkusen, enough for the Black and Yellows to trigger Brandt’s €25 million exit clause. Brandt then struggled at Dortmund over his first few seasons, seeing his market value decline from €50m in 2019 to €20m in 2021.
That decline was abruptly stopped this season, with Brandt seeing his market value climb to an impressive €40m. “Everyone thinks there was that one moment when you wake up and all of a sudden everything clicks into place,” Brandt said when asked what spurned his development this season. “I think it was a long process that wasn’t always obvious at first. At one point, you just manage to play yourself into momentum. You work for it every day,” Brandt added. “I am not sure I would agree that you play like you train. But if you have success in one game, then it is easier to repeat that in the next game, and at one point, you just get into a flow, and you score goals, perhaps even with your backside.”
Even though he enjoyed a strong campaign, Brandt appears far from satisfied. The 42-time German national team player (three goals) pointed out that he failed to reach his personal goal of scoring more than ten goals and ten assists. “I know it isn’t always obvious from my body language, but I actually get quite pissed off when I fail to reach my goals,” Brandt said. “Of course, team success comes first, but for me personally, it is important to progress, even if I am playing a different role as a no.8. I want to reach double-digits in goals and assists next season.”
Brandt: Difficult to replace Bellingham one-to-one
Brandt scoring more goals and assists next season would go a long way of replacing the 13-goal contributions that Bellingham provided in the Bundesliga last season. But Brandt stressed that Bellingham was more than just goals and assists for Dortmund over the last few seasons. “Jude has an incredible mentality,” Brandt said. “It will be difficult to replace him one-to-one, and we shouldn’t put pressure on [new signings] [Marcel] Sabitzer and [Felix] Nmecha.”
Sabitzer (from Bayern) and Nmecha (from Wolfsburg) were signed this summer to help fill the Bellingham void. And while Nmecha has been struggling with an injury in the United States, Sabitzer managed to show his potential impact for his new side with an excellent showing in the friendly against his former club, Manchester United, in Las Vegas. But even with Sabitzer playing well, Brandt believes that several players will have to step up to replace Bellingham, comparing the situation to last year when Erling Haaland left the club. “Everyone asked: ‘Who will score all the goals,’” Brandt said. “We just distributed the goals among many shoulders. It will be similar when it comes to replacing Jude. All the new guys are sensational players and fit the way we play football.”
Although more of a quiet personality, Brandt believes that he, too, must step up and take more of a responsibility on and off the field. “In Germany, the expectations are always that a leader is someone who is loud on the pitch and perhaps takes someone on in a tackle at a key moment during a game,” Brandt said. “But I think that mindset is changing somewhat, and I have taken on more responsibilities, speak before games. But I think my nature won’t change even if I am trying to change a bit, especially as that is something that we like to see in Dortmund. But, in general, it is important that many players take on leadership responsibilities, and I want to take a path towards that direction as well.”
- Date of birth/Age:
- May 2, 1996 (27)
-
Nat.:
- Current club:
- Borussia Dortmund
- Contract until:
- Jun 30, 2026
- Position:
- Attacking Midfield
- Market Value:
- €40.00m
- Date of birth/Age:
- Jun 29, 2003 (20)
-
Nat.:
- Current club:
- Real Madrid
- Contract until:
- Jun 30, 2029
- Position:
- Attacking Midfield
- Market Value:
- €180.00m
- Total Market Value:
- €463.70m
- Competition:
- Bundesliga
- Position:
- 5.
- Manager:
- Edin Terzic
- Squad size:
- 28
- Latest Transfer:
- Ian Maatsen
