Borussia Dortmund's worst signings of the last 20 years

Borussia Dortmund have not always been successful in the transfer market. Praised for their recruitment under Jurgen Klopp, the club have been guilty of financial waste in the transfer market in years gone by.

 Dortmund's worst signings of the last 20 years

 

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2 OF 27

IVAN PERISIC | The Croatia international won the top scorer award in Belgium and had been involved in 36 goals in 50 league games at Club Brugge, but he never managed to become a regular at Dortmund. He netted nine times in 42 Bundesliga appearances before leaving the club for Wolfsburg in a deal worth €8 million.

Borussia Dortmund's worst signings of the last 20 years

 

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3 OF 27

GIUSEPPE REINA | Reina was unstoppable at times, but this was hardly ever the case during his time at BVB. He joined Dortmund from Bielefeld for a fee of €2.2m and made 84 league appearances during his time at the club, in which he scored 17 goals and created 11 more.

nd's worst signings of the last 20 years

 

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4 OF 27

STEVEN PIENAAR | The Dortmund fans never got to see the Steven Pienaar who had impressed at Ajax and also did well in England later on. He was meant to take Tomas Rosicky’s place at BVB, but failed to make an impact. Dortmund had to settle for ninth place in the table and Pienaar left for Everton after just one year.

 worst signings of the last 20 years

 

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5 OF 27

THIAGO | Dortmund had their own Thiago as well in the past. The 19-year-old joined the club after impressing during a trial period at the club in the winter of 2004, yet did not appear a single minute in an official game. He left the club again after just one season.

Dortmund's worst signings of the last 20 years

 

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6 OF 27

MOHAMED ZIDAN | He was a personal favourite of Jurgen Klopp, who had already worked with the Egyptian attacker at Mainz. Zidan stayed at BVB for three-and-a-half years after joining from Hamburg in 2008, but he scored only 13 goals in 66 Bundesliga matches. Only when Lucas Barrios arrived at the club did Dortmund really see the worth of a true striker.

Borussia Dortmund's worst signings of the last 20 years

 

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7 OF 27

STEINAR PEDERSEN | He was supposed to be the solution at right-back. The 21-year-old Norwegian joined Dortmund on a free transfer in 1996, yet was on his way out again one year later, having played 83 minutes in four Bundesliga games.

worst signings of the last 20 years

 

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8 OF 27

CEDRIC VAN DER GUN | The attacker was another signing of the Bert van Marwijk era. The Dutchman was a cheap arrival during a financially difficult time. A knee injury prevented him from making an impact, however, and he moved on again one season after his arrival

Borussia Dortmund's worst signings of the last 20 years

 

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9 OF 27

TAMAS HAJNAL | The Hungarian was already 27 when he joined BVB in the summer of 2008 for a fee in the region of €1.5m. He scored five goals and created 12 more in his first season at the club, but then lost his starting berth after picking up an injury. He was eventually farmed out on loan to Stuttgart before leaving on a permanent basis.

st 20 years

 

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10 OF 27

DIEGO KLIMOWICZ | He was a seasoned striker when he joined Dortmund, having scored 57 league goals for Wolfsburg during his time at the club. At the age of 33, he was already past his best, though. This didn’t stop Dortmund from paying €1.5m, but the competition of Valdez, Frei and Zidan proved to be too much.

Dortmund's worst signings of the last 20 years

 

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11 OF 27

MARKUS FEULNER | He signed for Dortmund on a free transfer in 2009 after previously working with Klopp, but contributed very little. He featured for a meagre 179 minutes in 15 Bundesliga appearances during his two years at the club

 

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12 OF 27

GIOVANNI FEDERICO | He was regarded as a bit of an ‘eternal talent’ until he lived up to the high expectations at last at Karlsruhe, where he won the 2. Bundesliga top scorer award once and was also voted Player of the Season. He was unable to replicate that form at Dortmund, though, and was deemed surplus to requirements when Klopp arrived