INTERVIEW: Patrick Owomoyela "wasn't aiming for BVB" move until a close friend convinced him

The 46-year-old said he never dreamed of a move to Borussia Dortmund, rather a close friend in the footballing world convinced him that Jurgen Klopp's side were on the brink of creating a truly special squad.

Photo: Leonhard Simon/Getty Images.

MUNCHEN (Bulinews) Speaking at a media event attended by Bulinews.com, Patrick Owomoyela revealed a close friend was the real reason behind his 2008 move from Werder Bremen to Borussia Dortmund. 

“When I was at Werder Bremen, they were like the challenger to Bayern Munich. I was there for three years, we always came third or second, but we were right there," Owomoyela explained. 

“In my time, when I signed the contract [for Dortmund] that was it, I didn’t look anywhere else. I know this is very different today, their agents have plans. Now when players sign a contract they already know where they want to go next.

"I was already enjoying my time at the club I was with [Werder Bremen]. Borussia Dortmund wasn’t looking all too fancy and sexy back then. They almost came out of bankruptcy and had lots of different coaches. I wasn’t aiming for BVB. 

“When that [Dortmund’s offer], came up, I had a friend in the stadium who was playing at Dortmund. So I knew about the stadium, the energy and how cool that could be [to play in front of]. He told me about the culture and fans. 

“It was Otto Addo, I grew up with him in Hamburg. Like me he was a guy from Hamburg that had an African background that made it pro. I would visit him sometimes [in Dortmund]. 

“He had worked with Jurgen Klopp before so he got me thinking they could be building something big. I wasn’t [planning on] going [to Dortmund] to be Bundesliga champion, that was way out of the picture at the time,” Owomoyela chuckled. 

Little did he know, less than four seasons later he and Klopp would be celebrating winning back-to-back German topflight titles, as well as a 5-2 DFB-Pokal triumph over FC Bayern Munich.