The winter transfer phase puts many a club to the test. Not everything goes as planned. Borussia Dortmund managed to land a real gem in January 2001. Remember?

All the clubs that have had a disappointing first half of the season often look for reinforcements for their squad in the winter. It sounds simple, but it is difficult to implement. Hardly any club wants to lose its top-performing players in the middle of the season. Negotiations often prove to be particularly tough.

In the winter of the 2000/01 season, Borussia Dortmund upped its game and even outdid FC Bayern Munich in the transfer race. The two Bundesliga heavyweights fought over a gem from the Czech Republic, Tomas Rosicky, who was under contract with Sparta Prague.

The then 20-year-old decided to move to the Ruhr area. BVB got a new midfield hub for the then Bundesliga record transfer fee of €14.5 million.

This transfer was to pay off for both sides. In his debut half of the season, Rosicky made 15 appearances, all of which ended without him scoring. This was a period of familiarization that was to quickly vanish in the new season.

The following year, BVB became German champions. The Czech made a significant contribution to this success, scoring five goals in 30 league games. That same season, he helped the black-and-yellows reach the UEFA Cup final, where they lost 2-3 to Feyenoord Rotterdam. He became more important with each game and developed into a mainstay in the midfield. It was the highlight of his very successful time at BVB.

The next few years were bumpy for the 105-time Czech international. Rosicky had to struggle with injuries and never got into the flow of his first two years in Dortmund.

At the same time, Borussia Dortmund was in dire straits both financially and in terms of its sporting performance. Five years after his transfer, Tomas Rosicky was lured to the Premier League. He signed with Arsenal and earned the club from the Ruhr region a tidy sum of €10 million in the process.