Borussia Dortmund: Analysing the 3-4-3 system under Lucien Favre

Julian Brandt: Toni Kroos 2.0

Orchestrating the game from the middle of the park, Julian Brandt has a new role in central midfield, which is easily one of the most important pieces of Dortmund’s 3-4-3 jigsaw. The German youngster, who by nature belongs to attacking roles as part of the front-three, has become the engine of the team. He is now responsible for dictating the pace of the game, distributing possession all over the park and acting as a bridge between defence and offence.

Owing to his extremely sound technique, sublime passing range and experience at Leverkusen, Brandt’s transition into the new role has happened effortlessly. Either way, Brandt was never an explosive winger who whizzed past defenders with blistering pace. Even during his Leverkusen days when he was deployed on the wing, he had a tendency of drifting centrally and impacting the game. Yet one cannot ignore the kind of promise Brandt has shown as a central-midfielder, as early signs suggests a striking resemblance to Germany’s very own midfield maestro Toni Kroos.

In his very second game as central-midfielder in the 3-4-3, Brandt bossed the middle of the park racking up 101 passes at a pass completion of 91%. He was also instrumental in winning back possession with 4 tackles and 1 interception. Brandt has started 8 games in this role and has averaged 74 passes per game at an accuracy of 86% and it is certainly not just the passes which make him similar to Kroos but the style, command and execution altogether.