Kai Daniel Brünker (born 10 June 1994) is a German professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays for 1. FC Magdeburg, as a striker.

Early and personal life

Brünker is from Villingen-Schwenningen; in August 2018 he stated that a number of people from his village had bought Bradford City shirts and were watching matches online. During the 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Germany he returned to stay in Villingen after the football season had been ended early.

Career

Brünker spent his early career in Germany with FC Kappel, SV Zimmern,

FC 08 Villingen FC 08 Villingen is a German association football club based in Villingen-Schwenningen, Baden-Württemberg. The association was founded on 1 October 1908 and over time absorbed other local clubs including ''Germania'', ''Alemania'' and ''Phönix ...

and

SC Freiburg II SC Freiburg II is the reserve team of German association football club SC Freiburg, based in Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg. The team played as SC Freiburg Amateure until 2005. The team has reached the first round of the DFB-Pokal, the German Cup ...

. He turned professional with English club

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

in January 2018, signing an 18-month contract. He was signed by the club as support for

Charlie Wyke Charles Thomas Wyke (born 6 December 1992) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Championship club Wigan Athletic. Career Middlesbrough Wyke started his career in the academy at Middlesbrough and progressed throu ...

. He made his debut for the club on 27 January 2018, appearing as a substitute in a 4–0 league defeat at home to

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

. On 12 April 2018, after Bradford's poor form, manager

Simon Grayson Simon Nicholas Grayson (born 16 December 1969) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Indian Super League club Bengaluru. As a player, he was a right back, but he was also utilised in m ...

suggested Brünker was close to making his first start for the club. He made his first start the next day, on 13 April 2018, in a 0–0 league draw at home to

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

. Later that month, he stated that he was becoming used to playing and living in England. Ahead of the 2018–19 season he stated he was looking forward to breaking back into the first team following an ankle injury at the end of the previous season and the appointment of

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

as the new manager. He scored his first goal for Bradford City in a 4–1 home defeat in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

on 9 October 2018. He described it as a "special moment". He left the club in January 2019, to return to Germany, signing for

SG Sonnenhof Großaspach SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (german: Sportgemeinschaft Sonnenhof Großaspach e.V.), commonly known as Sonnenhof Großaspach, is a German professional football club based in Aspach, Baden-Württemberg. The club play in the Regionalliga Südwest, whi ...

on a contract until June 2020. After leaving Bradford City he was described by the local newspaper as "a bit of a cult hero at City, but sadly it was for all the wrong reasons". At the end of the 2019–20 season, following Sonnenhof Großaspach's relegation, he signed for 1. FC Magdeburg on a two-year contract.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunker, Kai 1994 births Living people People from Villingen-Schwenningen Sportspeople from Freiburg (region) German footballers Men's association football forwards FC 08 Villingen players SC Freiburg II players Bradford City A.F.C. players SG Sonnenhof Großaspach players 1. FC Magdeburg players 2. Bundesliga players 3. Liga players Regionalliga players English Football League players German expatriate footballers German expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England Footballers from Baden-Württemberg