Matthäus demands: Brandt has to find constancy in Dortmund!

On December 28, 2024, Lothar Matthäus commented on the achievements of Julian Brandt, the player of Borussia Dortmund. Matthew expects a performance jump from Brandt, especially after the 3-1 win against VfL Wolfsburg, in which Brandt was active, which prepared 2-0 and scored 3-0. Brandt collected nine scorer points (three goals, six assists) in a total of 19 cross-competition games.

Matthäus criticized the inconsistence of Brandt and made comparisons to Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen and Jamal Musiala from FC Bayern. He demands that Brandt should perform consistently in four out of five games. Brandt had previously emphasized that he was still under development, which Matthew sees as critical. Nevertheless, Matthäus acknowledges that Brandt is verbally preceding and takes responsibility, especially in his role as captain. He has a contract until 2026, and the BVB managers plan to accept contract talks in spring 2025.

criticism of the inconsistence of Dortmund

The discussion about Julian Brandt is in the context of the general inconsistence of Borussia Dortmund, as Matthäus analyzed. The club won 3-1 on the 15th matchday of the Bundesliga against VfL Wolfsburg, with painting and having to do not only Brandt and Beier for Dortmund. During the game, Pascal Groß received a red card in the 62nd minute.

Dortmund did not show the expected performance in the first half of the season and is behind FC Bayern. The decision for the young coach Nuri Sahin led to a phase of uncertainty and instability in the team. Matthäus calls for more responsibility and consistency of Julian Brandt, who is supposed to take on a leadership role, similar to Wirtz for Leverkusen or Musiala for Bavaria. While Dortmund continues to hope for Champions League places, it will be difficult to reach the top two. The title fight is expected to be decided between Bavaria and Leverkusen, whereby Bavaria is the favorite for the championship and recovered stability.