After goal vs old club: Brandt's unique past at Wolfsburg | OneFootball

It's been a long time. Julian Brandt (29) wore the VfL Wolfsburg jersey for two and a half years. Last Saturday (February 7), the Borussia Dortmund midfielder returned to his old stomping grounds for 90 minutes. Back then, he didn't just play football for the Green-Whites.

Volkswagen Arena, 38th minute. Julian Ryerson (28) delivers a corner from the left side into the opponent's penalty area. In the style of a "header monster," Brandt heads the ball into the net of the Wolfsburg goal for a 1-0 lead for BVB. Keeper Kamil Grabara (27) gets his hands on the ball but cannot prevent it from going in.

A special goal in many ways. Although Brandt scored his 76th goal in the Bundesliga, the lead against the "Wolves" was only his third with a header. He had never scored a header for the Black and Yellows before. Previously, he netted with a header while wearing the Bayer Leverkusen jersey in 2016 (against Darmstadt) and 2018 (against Frankfurt).

Before joining the Werkself in January 2014, Brandt played for VfL Wolfsburg. He moved from FC Oberneuland from his hometown Bremen to the VW city. "It's been a very long time since I played here. It was mostly in the youth teams," the Bild newspaper quotes the Borussia ball artist.

Wolfsburg sinking deeper into crisis

But he didn't just prepare for his career as a professional footballer in Wolfsburg. "I know everything here because I also worked here myself," Brandt recalls deeply. He earned some extra money with the Green-Whites. "After school, I actually worked in the VfL Arena fan shop and sold Wölfis," reveals the 48-time international, who has been playing for BVB since 2019. The Wolfsburg club mascot can be purchased in the fan shop, for example, as a small plush version.

More than a decade later, Brandt shoots his former club deeper into the Bundesliga basement. VfL is in 15th place, level on points with Werder Bremen in the relegation playoff spot, 16th.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.