Five Talented Players Who Didn't Cut It at Borussia Dortmund
When both Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United confirmed an agreement to end Adnan Januzaj's loan spell with the Black and Yellows prematurely on Thursday, per the German club's official website, it signalled the end of a misunderstanding.
The talented winger never made a real impact at Signal Iduna Park, so it wasn't too surprising to see the Red Devils pull the plug—the 20-year-old was at risk of wasting six more months at a time when he needs to play to hone his skills.
It got us at Bleacher Report thinking, too.
Sometimes even highly touted players such as Januzaj don't work out at one club, but they go on to thrive elsewhere. Look no further than Dortmund's squad: Nuri Sahin and Shinji Kagawa are prime examples. The former failed in short-lived spells at Real Madrid and Liverpool, while the Japan international made little impact at Old Trafford. However, both have returned to become integral to Dortmund again.
On the following pages, we'll present—in chronological order of their arrival—five talented players who didn't make it at Dortmund.
Sergej Barbarez
1 of 5
The Black and Yellows signed Bosnian attacking midfielder Sergej Barbarez from Hansa Rostock in 1998.
The then-26-year-old had impressed for the small club from north-eastern Germany, as his 11 goals in the 1997/98 season propelled Rostock to a seventh-place finish in the Bundesliga.
Barbarez only stayed at Dortmund for two years and never nailed down a regular starting spot under head coach Michael Skibbe. He appeared in 48 games for the club and scored only seven goals. In 2000, he was sold to Hamburger SV.
Barbarez flourished at Hamburg, playing 214 times over a span of six years. In his first season with the club, he was the joint-leading goalscorer of the Bundesliga, his 22 goals tying Ebbe Sand's tally for Schalke.
In the twilight of his career, the Bosnian spent another two successful years at Bayer Leverkusen.
The fact that he temporarily held the record for most Bundesliga games played by a foreigner—he's fourth on the list now, per Transfermarkt.co.uk—illustrates what an illustrious career the 44-year-old enjoyed in Germany despite his unhappy spell at Dortmund.
Fredi Bobic
2 of 5
One year after Barbarez joined, BVB signed Fredi Bobic from VfB Stuttgart. It was considered quite a coup for Dortmund at the time, as evidenced by a lofty fee of €5.75 million.
It's a bit of a stretch to call the central forward talented by modern definitions, but he had a knack for goals. He scored 69 in the Bundesliga for the Swabians, where he was part of what was known as the "Magic Triangle," formed by Bobic, Bulgarian No. 10 Krasimir Balakov and Brazilian striker Giovane Elber.
In two-and-a-half seasons with Dortmund, Bobic scored only 23 times across all competitions.
After spending a mere 70 minutes on the pitch in the first half of the 2001/02 Bundesliga season, Dortmund loaned him out to Bolton Wanderers.
He then joined Hannover 96 in the summer of 2002, where he enjoyed a revival that earned him a return to the German national team. He was part of the UEFA Euro 2004 squad that failed to get out of the group stages.
Steven Pienaar
3 of 5
Dortmund brought in South African midfielder Steven Pienaar in 2006 to soften the blow of Tomas Rosicky's departure to Arsenal.
At a time when money was tight for Dortmund—they almost went into administration in 2005—signing the then 24-year-old on a free transfer from Ajax looked like shrewd business.
Unfortunately for both Pienaar and the Black and Yellows, his lone season at the club was a huge disappointment. He failed to score a single goal in a frustrating campaign for Dortmund, and generally looked like an alien element in the Ruhr side.
BVB loaned him out to Everton after just one year, and the Toffees then paid €2.75 million for him in 2008, so at least Dortmund made a profit out of a wholeheartedly disappointing signing.
Kevin Kampl
4 of 5
Making a big jump in time, which partly explains why Dortmund were so successful under Jurgen Klopp—most signings panned out very well—Kevin Kampl is next on our list.
Dortmund signed the highly rated, versatile midfielder from Red Bull Salzburg in the January 2015 window for €12 million. It quickly felt like a panic buy, because the Slovenian looked out of place in nearly every game he played for the Black and Yellows.
His sending-off as a substitute in the DFB-Pokal semi-final against Bayern Munich will live in infamy among Dortmund supporters: Coming on in the 83rd minute, Kampl was booked twice and red-carded in extra-time.
In August 2015, he was sold to Bayer Leverkusen, where he's enjoyed a strong first half of the season. German magazine Kicker (link in German) recently ranked him as the second-best defensive midfielder of the campaign so far, which perhaps confirms our listing of Kampl as a player Dortmund sold too soon.
Adnan Januzaj
5 of 5
It's difficult to put a finger on why exactly Adnan Januzaj didn't cut it at Dortmund, but there's no denying his loan spell was a huge disappointment—a true waste of time for all parties involved.
Sporting director Michael Zorc admitted as much, per James Robson of the Manchester Evening News: "It was a wish of Adnan to go back. The loan wasn't a good deal for both sides all in all."
The Belgium international had joined Dortmund on the last day of the summer window in Germany, which probably played a factor in his failure at Signal Iduna Park. He joined a team that had already played (and won) eight competitive matches, while the lack of a summer preparation with the Black and Yellows also seemed like a hurdle for the 20-year-old.
The highly touted winger only appeared in 12 games for BVB, failing make a single start in the Bundesliga. He now returns to his parent club and hopes to step in the footsteps of the other players on this list, all of whom enjoyed success after unhappy stints with Dortmund.
All transfer information and performance data via Transfermarkt.de (link in German).
Lars Pollmann is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
