Felipe Santana moved from Borussia Dortmund to Schalke 04 in 2013. Looking back, the defender describes it as his “biggest mistake.”
Of the 24 players who have played for both Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04, he is the last one: Felipe Santana. The 38-year-old Brazilian came to BVB from his native Brazil in 2008. Five years later, the center back, who has since retired, moved to the local rivals in Gelsenkirchen.
It’s a decision Santana regrets today. “I wanted to be a regular player again so I could try out for the national team,” he said on Kevin Großkreutz’s podcast “Viertelstunde Fussball.” “In the end, though, it was a very stressful time. I just thought: What have I done?”
His BVB teammates apparently showed no understanding for his decision. Santana drew the ire of self-confessed Schalke hater Großkreutz in particular. “All the guys were angry about the transfer at the time. Kevin still insults me about it sometimes.“
However, Großkreutz put things into perspective in the podcast: ”Everyone makes mistakes, you know that. It was a big mistake, but that’s part of life. Nevertheless, you have to say that you’re a good person, always in a good mood, that’s why I like you. I’ve made mistakes too. That doesn’t make Felipe a bad person, on the contrary, he’s a great guy.”
Großkreutz and Santana spent four years together at BVB. During this time, they celebrated two championships, a DFB Cup victory, and reaching the Champions League final. Along the way, Santana had his greatest moment in a BVB jersey. In the quarterfinal second leg against FC Malaga, he scored the celebrated winning goal in extra time.
However, Santana was never a regular starter in Dortmund. That was to change with his move to Schalke. Santana also wanted to use his time with the Royal Blues to earn a spot on the 2014 World Cup squad in Brazil. The plan didn’t work out. After a temporary loan to Greece and a total of two and a half years, Santana left Schalke.
Today he says: “I have nothing against Schalke 04, but it was a completely different atmosphere to BVB.” Dortmund was like a school for him: “I got to know great teammates there and learned everything I know about German culture.”