Players who reunited with Borussia Dortmund after previously leaving

Jörg Heinrich

First joined the club in 1996
Left for AFC Fiorentina in 1998
Returned to the club in 2000

This dynamic left-back is a perfect addition to this list as he not only a returnee, but also grew up in the German Democratic Republic. In 1990 after the reunification he – like many other talented footballers – left East Germany to make a better living in what was formerly known as West Germany. He joined Kickers Emden who at the time played in the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen and helped them win promotion to the Oberliga. His success didn’t go unnoticed and after years in the 4th and 3rd highest tier of the German football pyramid SC Freiburg signed him in 1994.

As part of Volker Finke’s Breisgau Brazilians, Jörg Heinrich won a call up to the German national team in 1995. The year 1996 started off pretty good as well for him as Freiburg agreed to sell him to Borussia Dortmund. After a slow start in Dortmund, he missed out on a spot in the European Championship winning Germany squad of 96.

However, on club-level he continued to impress and made a return to the German national team for the 1998 World Cup.

Despite the disappointing tournament, Italian side AFC Fiorentina – a major player in the European football world at the time – made Heinrich the most expensive German player ever. They paid 25 million DM (about 12.5 million euros) for his services. This might not sound like a lot by today’s standards. But just for comparison: that same year Juventus bought one certain Thierry Henry for the same amount of money, Bayern paid just under 10 million DM for playmaker Stefan Effenberg and Arsenal got Nwankwo Kanu AND Freddie Ljungberg for less than what Heinrich cost.

The reunification

Just two years later, Heinrich returned to Borussia Dortmund for less than a third of what the Tuscan club originally paid, which made for a rare financially sensible transfer of this particular era of the club.

In the next three years, he won the Bundesliga title and played (as a substitute) in the UEFA Cup final, which the team lost to future BVB coach Bert van Marwijk and Feyenoord. After this he saw his time on the pitch dwindling each season and finally left Dortmund for a second time to join Cologne in 2003.

Overall, he had an amazing career at Borussia Dortmund, winning the Champions League, two German titles, the German Super Cup and the intercontinental Cup. He won a German title in both his stints, so this reunion has to be considered a success.