Julian Brandt
Quick Facts
Biography
Julian Brandt (born 2 May 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a winger for German club Bayer Leverkusen.
Brandt made over 55 combined appearances for Germany's underage teams, playing at every level from U15 to U21. He was a member of the squad that won the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2014.
Club Career
In his youth, Brandt played in his hometown at SC Borgfeld and then at FC Oberneuland before he joined the youth academy of VfL Wolfsburg. In 2014, Brandt moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen during the January transfer window for a fee of 350,000 euros, where he signed a professional contract until 2019. He made his professional debut on 15 February 2014 in the Bundesliga against Schalke 04. He replaced Son Heung-Min after 82 minutes in a 1–2 home defeat. Three days later he made his debut in the European Cup when he came on in the first knockout round first leg against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League. On 4 April 2014, he scored his first goal for Bayer Leverkusen, as he made it 1–1 in the 1–2 defeat against Hamburger SV.
On 15 August 2015, Brandt scored the winning goal after appearing as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in Bayer's opening match of the 2015–16 Bundesliga season.
Between 20 March and 30 April 2016, he scored in six consecutive Bundesliga matches, becoming the youngest player since Gerd Müller to achieve this by scoring 72 seconds into a 2–1 home win over Hertha BSC.
International career
On 17 May 2016, Brandt was named in Germany's preliminary 27-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016.
He was part of the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics, where Germany won the silver medal.
Honours
International
- Germany
- Summer Olympic Games: Silver Medal, 2016
- European U19 championships: Gold Medal, 2014