Jule Brand: Germany’s ‘very special’ teenage winger ready to trouble Arsenal in the Women's Champions League

There were 60 minutes on the clock when Jule Brand came on for her senior international debut for Germany back in April.

Two minutes later, with her first four touches of the ball, she broke through the Australia defence and slotted home her first senior international goal.

Two minutes after that, she was through again – this time squaring a perfectly-weighted pass for Laura Freigang to score Germany’s fourth.

Voted Player of the Match for her efforts, when asked how she felt after the game, she did not have the words.

“Simply indescribable,” Brand said. “To be honest, I still can't believe what happened today.”

That dream debut proved to be confirmation of Brand's talent that had been shining in the Frauen-Bundesliga with Hoffenheim since the beginning of the 2020-21 season.

Brand’s introduction to the first team at Hoffenheim came a few months earlier, during the first Covid-19 lockdown in Germany. Then-head coach Jurgen Ehrmann had spotted her in the Under-17s and U20s – the latter of whom play in the second tier of German women's football – and was impressed.

“She already stood out with her long strides, but back then it all looked a bit stalky and not as harmonious as today,” Ehrmann tells GOAL.

“But the talent could not be overlooked, which is why we wanted her at Hoffenheim. In the U20 team, it became more and more apparent that she has very special skills.

“Jule's style of play has always been very light-hearted, and then in the 2. Liga she learned a lot in tackling. She was able to gain a sense of achievement, which also boosted her self-confidence. Her skills became more and more noticeable, her technique and her speed, also with the ball.

“In the first lockdown, she trained with the Bundesliga team for the first time - at first, we were only allowed to do so in small groups and without physical contact. Then we noticed that she is technically good and very advanced for her age. That's how she came into our focus and then also trained regularly with the Bundesliga team."

Check out football's best wonderkids with NXGN:

• Ianis Stoica (FCSB)
• Zalan Vancsa (MTK Budapest)
• Fabio Carvalho (Fulham)

At just 17 years old, Brand would make her Frauen-Bundesliga debut from the bench in a 3-1 defeat to Turbine Potsdam. From there, Ehrmann slowly, but surely, continued to introduce her into team.

By the end of the 2020-21 campaign, she had started 15 league games and registered four goals and six assists. She had also made her international debut and helped Hoffenheim secure Women’s Champions League football for the first time.

"She has become even more dynamic and has also improved physically,” Ehrmann says, asked about what exposure to the top level has done to Brand’s game.

“You never know what she's going to do next in the match. She has incredible speed with and without the ball. Especially with the ball, she has developed this strength even more. She has a better understanding of the game and also made great progress in the tactical area."

Getty/Goal

It was only a matter of time until Germany head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg called Brand in for a camp. A handful of caps later and she was echoing Ehrmann’s thoughts.

"Jule sometimes doesn't even know what she can do yet," Voss-Tecklenburg said in November, after the winger scored once and assisted twice in Germany’s win over Turkey.

"She still has so much up her sleeve. If she stays healthy, we can look forward to a really, really great player in this German national team in the next few years."

It’s still less than 18 months since Brand made her first-team debut with Hoffenheim, but the way she has developed in that time has been excellent.

She has already matched her goal tally this season in the league from last term, and has put her name on the scoresheet twice in the Champions League too.

Exposure to big experiences like those in Europe will only aid her development. Despite Hoffenheim's defeat to Arsenal in October, many came out of the game singing her praises.

As the German side face the difficult task of trying to secure a big win over the Gunners on Wednesday to qualify for the quarter-finals, the teenager will be key.

Ehrmann believes there are areas where Brand can get even better – in her strength, her heading, her ability to use both feet – and given how he speaks of her character, there is little doubt she will apply herself to those tasks.

“It's fun to coach her because you can see how much she enjoys it,” he adds. “She listens carefully and then tries to put it into practice.

“She has always kept it fun. She plays with great joy. She is, nevertheless, very ambitious.”

Combine that with her skillset, and Brand looks like she could achieve whatever her ambitions are in what is sure to be a wonderful career.

For more on the world's best young ballers, follow NXGN on Instagram and TikTok.