Dortmund's Brandt spotlighted in data analysis: Bundesliga star - and European Championship hope?
Translation of an article from 26/10/2023
Dortmund's Brandt spotlighted in data analysis: Bundesliga star - and European Championship hope?
Julian Brandt is playing his best Bundesliga season to date. For a long time, the Bremen-born player lacked consistency in his performances. But the Borussia Dortmund attacker, who has just celebrated a special anniversary, delivered just in time for his home European Championships.
Suddenly everything happened very quickly. Emre Can passed the ball between the stunned Bremen defenders and into the penalty area. Right into the path of Julian Brandt, who had cleverly stolen away. The high-class striker took the ball with one touch and struck Werder with the second. Brandt scored with a fine lob over the onrushing keeper Michael Zetterer to make it 1:0 for BVB.
It was to be the only goal of the evening. Brandt of all people - the Bremen-born player who had never played for Werder - was the man of the match. And this match was not just any match, it was the 300th that the attacker had played in the Premier League for Leverkusen and Dortmund. At the age of 27 years and 171 days. In Bundesliga history, only Charly Körbel (27/119) and Eike Immel (27/116) were younger when they made their 300th appearance.
Not only BVB coach Edin Terzic finds this "extraordinary" and calls Brandt "a child of the Bundesliga", who once made his debut for Leverkusen in 2014 at the age of 17.
Brandt in the form of his life
Germany is currently seeing a Brandt in the form of his life - as a glance at the GSN data clearly shows. With a performance score of 64.91, the man who, with his light blonde hair and cheeky grin on his face, still looks like a rascal ten years after his debut, is having by far the best season of his career on Dortmund's left wing (previous best score 61.47).
What is the "performance score"?
Three goals and four assists have already been recorded. His scoring record dates back to his last season at Leverkusen in 2019/2020, when he ended up with seven goals and 15 assists (his goal record is nine). Unlike usual for Brandt, however, he is in outstanding early form this season.
As a rule, he always needs a few more weeks to get up to speed. In his record-breaking season, for example, he only had two assists to his name after eight matchdays. In 2021/2022 it was two goals, in 2022/2023 two goals and two assists each.
Are his days as a sloppy genius numbered?
The strengths of the player from VfL Wolfsburg's youth team, who had to let him go before his first professional appearance, are well known: from offensive one-on-one, technique and passing to creativity and overview. In the 1-0 win against Bremen, he also showed how well he can anticipate and how quick his pace is.
At the same time, Brandt will certainly not become a header monster or a defensive workhorse. More seriously, however, he has lacked consistency in recent years because he hasn't always seemed to be on the ball - a sloppy genius, if you like.
His current explosion in performance may also have something to do with the fact that coach Terzic has deployed him much less frequently in his favorite position as a playmaker this season. In Leverkusen, he once played with the number 10 on his back, but Dortmund's number 19 now mainly plays on the left wing, but also on the right. Mind you, with permission to repeatedly move towards the goal in the center. In data jargon, this is referred to as an "inverse winger", while Brandt himself recently spoke of a "hybrid position".
Brandt is the fourth-best German in the league
In this position, he has no need to shy away from comparison in the league. Brandt is right at the top in almost all relevant statistics. With 3.32 assists per game, he is even the best in the league - as is his involvement in 1.55 Dortmund attacks per game that lead to goals and his 0.59 expected assists, i.e. assists that should (actually) lead to goals.
In Leroy Sané, Mats Hummels, Chris Führich and Leon Goretzka, only four Germans in the Bundesliga currently have a better performance score than Brandt. That should also make namesake Julian Nagelsmann prick up his ears. But is the new national coach also counting on him?
Only 19 minutes on the pitch on the USA trip
Another reason for Brandt standing out could be the upcoming European Championships in his own country. It kicks off on June 14, 2024 with the opening game in Munich. And Brandt will not be allowed to slack off if he is to play a significant role at the home European Championships. Nagelsmann did nominate Brandt, who has 45 international appearances to date with three goals, for the most recent international trip to the USA. However, he only played 19 minutes against the hosts and sat on the bench for the entirety of the subsequent match against Mexico.
Great competition in the German attack
This is not because he has strong competition in his position in the form of Führich (performance score 65.08/2 goals/5 assists). The Stuttgart native, who is a completely different type of player anyway with his long sprints down the left wing, only played nine minutes in the USA. In Nagelsmann's favored 4-4-2, four central midfielders played behind the two attackers and, in Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, two 20-year-olds who have a bright future with the DFB.
And then there is another problem: the "child of the Bundesliga" Brandt, who was awarded the Fritz Walter Gold Medal in 2014, has not been able to build on his strong previous performances in either the Champions League or the national team. Especially with the eagle on his chest, the BVB professional was hardly recognizable. His performance score in international matches over the past five years was just 55.86 points.
Does Brandt bring consistency to his performances?
However, with his current GSN index of 82.98 and a possible score of 84.59, Brandt is scratching the surface of world class. He is also so interesting for the national team because he can actually play all positions in the offense (apart from center forward). If he manages to even begin to show his potential in the national team, Nagelsmann will not be able to ignore him.
Source: EM-Hoffnung? Julian Brandt von Borussia Dortmund in der Datenanalyse | NDR.de - Sport - Fußball
