Julian Brandt's seven-year journey with Borussia Dortmund comes full circle this weekend, as the midfielder prepares for his final home game at Signal Iduna Park. "A special moment for me was my first Bundesliga match, when I scored my first goal for Dortmund," Brandt recalls in the BVB podcast, reflecting on a career chapter that began with promise and ends with bittersweet memories.
For the 30-year-old, who celebrated his birthday just days ago, the pre-game ritual remains the most cherished part of matchday. "That walk, the tunnel, the expanding view – and then you see the immense scale of it," he says, describing the iconic march toward the Yellow Wall. It's a moment that never gets old, even after seven seasons in black and yellow.
Brandt arrived in Dortmund in the summer of 2019 as a 23-year-old with a football romantic's heart. In his first interview with the club's members' magazine, BORUSSIA, he spoke with remarkable maturity: "I went to Dortmund simply because I wanted to. I don't just want to sell myself to a club. I always try to remember why we actually play football: because we enjoyed it even as small children." That philosophy has defined his time at the club.
His brilliant ball control and football intelligence have produced moments of pure magic. Take his technically superb goal against TSG Hoffenheim just over a year ago – the recognition of open space, the explosive sprint, the volley from a tight angle, and the ball nestling in the back of the net. It was a near-perfect symbiosis that left fans gaping in disbelief.
Yet for all the individual brilliance, the trophy cabinet tells a story of near-misses. Only two titles in seven years: the Supercup in his first months at the club (2019) and the DFB Pokal in 2021, played in empty stands during the pandemic. "I was so close to winning every title with BVB," Brandt reflects. "When I arrived, we won the Supercup. We won the DFB Pokal in my second year. Then there was the possibility of the league title, the Champions League the following year. We could have been standing there with everything we could have wanted."
The narrow misses – the championship race in 2023, the Champions League final in 2024 – carry a touch of melancholy. "Of course, that brings a touch of melancholy, because I think: What could have been?" he admits. "But I can put that into perspective and say: it doesn't make my time here any less valuable. I don't base the value of my time on trophies alone."
As he walks through that tunnel one last time, Brandt leaves behind a legacy of artistry, passion, and a reminder that football's true worth lies in the joy of playing – a lesson for every fan who pulls on their Dortmund jersey and dreams of their own Yellow Wall moment.