Germany U17, gold medal, sharpshooter… Everything you need to know about Paris Brunner
He is AS Monaco’s fourth summer signing. Arriving from Borussia Dortmund, Paris Brunner has just signed a five-year contract in the Principality, before joining Cercle Bruges for the season. Before he makes his debut with the Groen-Zwart, here’s a look at what you need to know about the German striker born in 2006 🔎
The tenth German at the Club 🇩🇪
By signing this Thursday, although he will be loaned to Cercle Bruges, Paris Brunner becomes the tenth German to join the ranks of AS Monaco. following Thilo Kehrer et and the Senegal-German Ismail Jakobs, in the current side. Before them, Uwe Krause, Jürgen Klinsmann, Oliver Bierhoff, Andreas Wolf, Benjamin Henrichs, Alexander Nübel and Kevin Volland have come from Germany to play in the Principality.
Incredible numbers 💥
Before joining Dortmund, Paris went through the training centers of Rot-Weiss Essen — like Mesut Ozil before him –, then VFL Bochum. It was only in 2020, at the age of 14, that he joined the ranks of BVB. As a youth, he quickly showed his formidable sense of goal, scoring 25 times in 26 league games with the U17s, then 26 times in 42 matches with the U19, when he was only 16 years old. He finally showed all his talent in the Youth League with five goals in 14 appearances.
Already on the bench in Dortmund 🪑
His fine performances with Borussia’s youth teams allowed him to train regularly with the pros. Capable of playing in all attacking positions, he was in the squad for a Bundesliga match at just 17 years and 10 months, against Leipzig. Although he remained on the bench for this match, it still allowed him to discover the joys of the professional world.
Impressive with the German U17s 🔥
Prolific at club level, Paris Brunner was logically selected with the Germany U17 team where he particularly shone (20 goals in 25 caps). Present at the Euros and the World Cup in this age group in 2023, he helped the Nationalmannschaft win these two competitions by scoring four and then five goals. It is thus without surprise that he is each time elected best player of the tournament like Toni Kroos or Mario Gotze.
The bête noire for France 😭
Two titles that Germany unfortunately won against… the France of Saïmon Bouabré and Joan Tincres. And he, who will play for Cercle Bruges this season, is one of the main causes. After scoring twice in the group stage of the European Championships, it was he who scored the penultimate German penalty in the final. This was before repeating the feat a few months later at the World Cup by opening the scoring from a penalty (2-2, 4-3 penalties).
Le premier but pour l'Allemagne !
Brunner marque sur penalty, l'action a été revue un long moment par la VAR et ne souffre d'aucune contestation
Suivez le match ici > https://t.co/bZzATUPkNL #lequipeFOOT #ALLFRA pic.twitter.com/KIdZUBjD1B— la chaine L'Équipe (@lachainelequipe) December 2, 2023
Honored like Wirtz and Goretzka 🏅
His talent and statistics did not go unnoticed in Germany. That is why he won the Fritz Walter Gold Medal of the 2006 class in 2023, a trophy awarded annually to the best young German footballer in the U17 and U19 categories. In the first category, Paris succeeds Florian Wirtz, who won in 2020, Karim Adeyemi in 2019 and Leon Goretzka in 2012, among others. Promising for the rest of his career.
🏅 #BVBU19-Stürmer Paris #Brunner hat heute die Fritz-Walter-Medaille in Gold überreicht bekommen! 👏
📸: DFB/Getty Images pic.twitter.com/aYZ7Md8AJc
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) September 14, 2023
Inspired by a Bayern star 🌟
All young players have a role model they want to emulate. This is of course the case for Paris Brunner who identifies with Leroy Sané, as he explained in an interview with the German federation. “He has a similar style of play to me. I like his qualities: he is fast, agile, capable of scoring goals and often goes one-on-one.” He also took the opportunity to mention Antonio Rüdiger, whom he considers to be “a monster of mentality.”
Monsieur Penalty 🎯
At only 18 years old, the striker already shows a lot of composure in front of goal, as his overall statistics prove. Penalties can also attest to this since he has simply been perfect in this regard (10/10). He is thus a veritable Mr. Penalty who also does not hesitate to take responsibility during penalty shootouts. It is indeed he who sealed qualification for the final of the U17 World Cup by being the last shooter against Argentina.
A card to watch on FC24 🎮
Now let’s take a look at the Esports part. And just like in real life, his potential is very high on EA Sports FC24. If its overall rating is only 65 at the start of the game, his potential is an impressive 87 after several seasons. With a 4-star bad foot, his card is clearly worth buying in order to have one of the best prospects in the game.
