Brandt: "I did not want it to go to penalties."

Julian Brandt was right. Ahead of the DFB Pokal quarterfinal the 21-year-old stated that his Leverkusen side would have learned their lesson against Werder Bremen, and gained revenge for the series of defeats in the competition. One 4-2 victory later, and the German national player’s side had reached the final four, and Brandt himself was named Man of the Match after scoring two goals.

Question: Julian Brandt, your coach Heiko Herrlich said it would be a tough game before kick off. How tough was it looking after seven minutes?

Julian Brandt: For sure. We deserved to be behind at that stage because we tried to do too much in the opening minutes and we paid the price. We don’t need to talk about that start again, it was very poor from us. But you saw how mentally tough we are after that and the reaction we showed was perfect. It took a bit of time to get the second goal but we always had the feel we could go on and win the game in 120 minutes. The game just showed how far we have come as a team in the last few months.

Question: How important was it to put the game to bed in extra time and not have penalties decided the outcome?

Brandt: We quickly forgot last year’s disaster in the shootout. But it was good to get the game done in 120 minutes because I did not want penalties at all. That would not have been for me at all. But right now we have so much strength in depth. Karim Bellarabi didn’t need long to score and set one up, and just shows our quality and always gave us hope during the game because we knew whoever came on would improve the side, and be able to score goals. That was definitely what swung the game for us.

Question: How do you see Karim Bellarabi’s role as an impact sub right now?

Brandt: It’s not easy for him because he had such a good year last year. He’s in a bit of a lul at the moment and is waiting for his chance. He made a huge impact today, even though he had not been on the pitch very long. It goes without saying he is a player of very high quality. When he is fully fit then he is a candidate to start every time. You should not write him off.

Question: Talk us through your two goals.

Brandt: The first goal was such a good team moce. Dominik Kohr ran through on goal and could have shot himself. I shouted so hard for him to square it and then when he did I panicked a bit because I thought I had left it too late to get there. I thought the second one I scored might have been a bit deflected. It’s such a good feeling to get two goals – that was my first brace in a Leverkusen shirt.

Question: Will you get stick from your parents now, who come from Bremen?

Brandt: Not from my parents, they became Leverkusen fans by now. But my friends will probably give me an earful, yes!

Question: How come you were brought off in extra time?

Brandt: I was exhausted. The coach asked me how I was at full time and I said I was okay. I wasn’t surprised to be taken off, because I knew we were going to make two or three changes.

Question: You said that the team has develiped. What do you put this new mentality down to?

Brandt: The mentality was always there, we showed that at times last season. We tightened up in the summer, and said that this was not about four or five players, but rather the team as a whole. We have shown this season too just how good that mentality can be, if you think about the game in Mönchengladbach. That is a strength of our team, the fact that the boys get on off the pitch as well. The coach instilled all of this into us in the summer.

Question: The Bundesliga might be out of reach with Bayern so far ahead, but so much is still possible for you guys in the Pokal?

Brandt: Without a doubt. We have a great chance to reach Berlin now, irregardless of who we play in the last four. We would rather play at home, but I have no preference on who we come up against. Stefan Kießling is in his final season and would love one more visit to Berlin. I have never gotten this far and reaching Berlin would be new for most of us. We are very eager to achieve that.