Bundesliga: The most expensive transfers in summer 2003 – And suddenly everything changed

The summer of 2003 was record-breakingly hot. This applied not only to the temperatures, but also to the transfers in the Bundesliga. The curtain rose on accurate Dutch players, dribbling-savvy Argentinians, and expensive teachers. 1 / 15 Vinicius for 1.00 million euros from SE Gama to Hannover 96 The Brazilian arrived on loan at Hannover the previous winter, and the Lower Saxony club signed him permanently in the summer. Ingenious: To avoid taxing non-EU residents, he took Italian citizenship due to his Italian ancestry. Even more ingenious: his thunderous free kick from 32 meters against FC Bayern Munich. 2 / 15 Niclas Jensen from Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund for 1.25 million euros Those were the days when Manchester City was a mediocre English club that lost its players to Borussia Dortmund. 3 / 15 Vaclav Sverkos for 1.25 million euros from Banik Ostrava to Borussia Mönchengladbach In his first season, the Czech scored three goals in a thrilling cup round of 16 match against VfB Stuttgart. A great achievement for VfB! 4 / 15 Hamit Altintop for 1.80 million euros from Wattenscheid 09 to Schalke 04 Wattenscheid 09, FC Schalke 04, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Galatasaray, Darmstadt 98. Hamit Altintop's career stages could be used to illustrate a perfect downward parabola in math class. And with his two goals against Borussia Dortmund in his first Bundesliga match for Schalke, he made the perfect debut. 5 / 15 Emanuel Centurión for 2.00 million euros from Vélez Sarsfield to VfB Stuttgart How could it be otherwise? Emanuel Centurión smiles somewhat painfully at Felix Magath's reception. His time at VfB Stuttgart was also painful: He only played six games. 6 / 15 Emile Mpenza for 2.00 million euros from Schalke 04 to Standard Liège After missing out on the championship in 2001, the Schalke dream strike force of Ebbe Sand and Emile Mpenza gradually faded. After falling out with Rudi Assauer, Mpenza fled to his native Belgium. There, at least, he had a dream wedding with fantasy outfits. Not bad either. 7 / 15 Tobias Rau for 2.25 million euros from VfL Wolfsburg to FC Bayern Perhaps the most expensive teacher of all time? But politicians aren't the only ones who know: investing in education is worth it! 8 / 15 Thomas Christiansen for 2.50 million euros from VfL Bochum to Hannover 96 Thomas Christiansen won the top scorer award last season alongside Giovane Elber. However, he joined Hannover 96 alone. 9 / 15 Simon Jentzsch for 2.85 million euros from 1860 Munich to VfL Wolfsburg After joining VfL Wolfsburg, Jentzsch made 142 appearances. Even better: he was able to play for the 2006 team seven times. 10 / 15 Jens Lehmann from Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal for 3.50 million euros In London, Lehmann quickly earned the nickname "Mad Jens." If only they had known back then how right they would be . 11 / 15 Giovane Elber for 4.20 million euros from FC Bayern to Olympique Lyon The other half of the top-scoring pair. However, after the signing of Roy Makaay (more on that later), Bayern no longer had room for the Brazilian. A year later, he also lost interest in Lyon and returned to the Bundesliga. 12 / 15 Martín Demichelis for 5.00 million euros from River Plate to FC Bayern An Argentinian in Munich? Of course, he'd first have to be portrayed as a gaucho on some Bavarian farm. 13 / 15 Andres D'Alessandro for 9.50 million euros from River Plate to VfL Wolfsburg An Argentinian in Wolfsburg? There was already a case of Diego Klimowicz. Therefore, D'Alessandro was left with only a supporting role. He never truly established himself. Quite the opposite in South America: At Internacional Porto Alegre, he's a true legend. 14 / 15 Evanilson for 15.00 million euros from AC Parma to Borussia Dortmund Crazy: In the summer of 2003, Borussia Dortmund transferred €15 million to AC Parma for Evanilson, even though he had been with Dortmund since 1999 and had never played for the Italians. The whole thing was apparently part of a shady deal, one that was ultimately intended to improve the club's financial situation. 15 / 15 Roy Makaay for 19.75 million euros from Deportivo la Coruña to FC Bayern Just a few months earlier, he had knocked Bayern out of the Champions League with Deportivo La Coruña. It was only logical that they signed him the following summer. It paid off: In 129 games for Bayern, he scored 78 goals. That's something to behold.