Brandt: 'We are the third force of German football'

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Julian Brandt's purple patch shows no sign of coming to an end, as the Bayer 04 Leverkusen starlet scored for the sixth game in a row on Matchday 32.

Heading into the final two games of the season, the meteoric 20-year-old shared his thoughts going into the final two games of the season.

Question: Julian Brandt, Leverkusen have secured third place with two games of the season to go. You've won all your last seven games and you have scored in the last six – how important were these goals to you?

Julian Brandt: The team comes before any personal satisfaction and the position we are in with two weeks of the season to go is far more important to me than my six goals. It's great when things are going so well and I'm able to help the team. I'm delighted, as is everybody here.

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"If I get a call, then I get a call. Like I've said, I'm neither building my hopes up nor am I expecting anything from the Germany coach. I'm pretty chilled."

bundesliga.com: How important is it already to have secured third place?

Brandt: It's great for our minds to know already that we've qualified for the Champions League next season. Nobody can take that off us now. If somebody had told us four or five months ago that we would be certain of third place with two games of the season to go, we would all have signed for that.

bundesliga.com: Your great performances in recent weeks have taken you into contention for a place in the Germany national team. Do you expect to be in the squad for EURO 2016, or do you think it's more likely you will go to the Olympics?

Brandt: There's not been any indications yet. I'm pretty relaxed about it all. What comes, comes and what doesn't come, well it doesn't come. I'm not stressing myself out about it. I'm going to plan my holidays because there are no fixtures for the Under-21s and if I get a call, then I get a call. Like I've said, I'm neither building my hopes up nor am I expecting anything from the Germany coach. I'm pretty chilled.

"We're the third force of German football this year, and by quite a way as things stand. That speaks for itself."

bundesliga.com: Do you think the team's ready to win a title?

Brandt: The people in Leverkusen are craving a title. The Bundesliga's always hard to win, but why shouldn't we win the DFB Cup? We've got a good team and we've always made it into the top four in recent years. We're the third force of German football this year, and by quite a way as things stand. That speaks for itself.

bundesliga.com: So how do you go into these final two games of the season?

Brandt: After beating Köln in a derby, we also want to get on Gladbach's nerves a bit in our next derby.

Tobias Gonscherowski reporting from Leverkusen