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 lea ...

who plays for

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken () is a German Football in Germany, football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. History The club began its existence as the footbal ...

, 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 and SC Freiburg II. He turned professional with English club Bradford City 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 Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward and captains club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United. Career Middlesbrough Wyk ...

. 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 club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

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

Simon Grayson Simon Nicholas Grayson (born 16 December 1969) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who is head coach of National League (division), National League club Hartlepool ...

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. 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 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, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

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 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 1. FC Magdeburg is a German Association football Football club (association football), club based in Magdeburg. The club was founded in 1965 from the football department of the Sports club (East Germany), sports club ''SC Magdeburg'' and has bee ...

on a two-year contract. In June 2023, he joined

. On 12 March 2024, he scored the winning goal for the latter in the stoppage time of a 2–1 victory over

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

in the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

quarter-finals.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunker, Kai 1994 births Living people Footballers from Villingen-Schwenningen German men's 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 men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 1. FC Saarbrücken matches 21st-century German sportsmen