The winter transfer phase puts many a club to the test. Not everything works out. Borussia Dortmund managed to land a real gem in January 2001. Do you still know?

All the clubs that have had a less than stellar first half of the season are often looking to strengthen their squad in the winter. It sounds very simple, but it is difficult to implement. Hardly any club wants to lose its well-performing players in the middle of the season. Negotiations often prove to be particularly tough.

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

The then 20-year-old decided to move to the Pott. For the then Bundesliga record transfer fee of 14.5 million euros, BVB acquired a new center midfielder.

This transfer was to pay off for both sides. Rosicky made 15 appearances in his debut half-season, all of which ended without a goal. An acclimatization phase that would quickly fade in the new season.

BVB became German champions the following year. The Czech played a key role in this success and contributed five goals in 30 league games to the championship title. That same season, he took the Black & Yellows to the UEFA Cup final, where he and Dortmund lost 3-2 to Feyenoord Rotterdam. He became more important from game to game and developed into a mainstay in midfield. It was the highlight of his very successful time at BVB.

The next few years were bumpy for the 105-time Czech Republic international. Rosicky struggled a lot with injuries and was unable to get back into the playing flow of his first two years in Dortmund.

At the same time, Borussia Dortmund was in dire straits, both athletically and financially. He then left BVB in 2006. Five years after his transfer, Tomas Rosicky moved to the Premier League. He signed for Arsenal FC, earning the club a valuable ten million euros in the process.