Even when the name Ailton was mentioned as a possible new signing in Dortmund, there was headwind. In 2005 the transfer did not actually take place.
A direct transfer from FC Schalke 04 to Borussia Dortmund – or in the opposite direction – is a delicate matter and does not happen often.
If a player who has already worn the royal blue jersey wants to win the hearts of the black and yellow fans at BVB, then there must be a lot of time and some other clubs in his CV in between. Like Ilkay Gündogan, who was kicked out at S04 in the F youth and was therefore allowed to lay the foundation for his world career twelve years later with Dortmund, to the delight of BVB fans.
What doesn’t work from Borussia’s point of view is what Ailton tried in winter 2005 – and the fans made that very clear. Because the Brazilian, who shot Werder Bremen to the championship a year and a half earlier, offered to play for BVB, although he had played for Schalke just six months earlier.
Schalke sold Ailton to Istanbul in the summer of 2005 for 3.5 million euros – a hefty sum for a 32-year-old at the time. However, things did not go according to plan for the attacker in Turkey and, according to Turkish media reports, he tried to fall out of favor as quickly as possible. And he succeeded: Ailton stayed away from the rest of the team on the pitch, and it was only his third kick in the groin of an opponent that led to the probably hoped-for red card.
To BVB! Ailton wants to leave Turkey quickly
In Dortmund, where Borussia had only just been able to prevent insolvency by a hair’s breadth, there was a lot of bad news at the same time in autumn 2005. With Jan Koller, Cedric van der Gun, Salvatore Gambino, Delron Buckley and Sebastian Tyrala, five players fell out for the offensive, only Ebi Smolarek held the flag high in BVB’s mild attacking air.
The news then came from Turkey that Ailton would like to switch to the Bundesliga and would much rather switch to Borussia. And not from dubious sources, but from the striker himself: “I want to go to BVB as soon as possible. I pray that Besiktas will let me go as soon as possible,” he said image.
The topic was thus on the table in Dortmund. BVB players like Christoph Metzelder and Christian Wörns (“Ailton is not a left-wing bug”) were quite impressed by the possible newcomer and the club bosses did not want to categorically rule out a commitment. “In our situation it must be legitimate to think about him,” said manager Michael Zorc.
BVB: Amoah instead of Ailton
On the other hand, many BVB fans didn’t have to think long: as a precaution, they protested against an Ailton deal, showed corresponding angry banners at home games and made it clear that a six-month break from Schalke is by no means sufficient for a new start in Dortmund.
In the end there was no transfer – not necessarily because of the resistance of the fans, but probably mainly because of the limited financial possibilities of Dortmund.
However, Ailton did not end the season at Besiktas, but went on loan to Hamburger SV shortly afterwards. Instead, BVB brought Matthew Amoah from Vitesse Arnhem for little money. He didn’t score a single goal in 17 league games for Dortmund. But at least he didn’t have a Schalke past.
