Flying the flag: BVB’s one-nation wonders
Borussia Dortmund can boast an incredible pedigree of player, both today and throughout history.
Standing as one of Germany’s biggest football clubs, ‘die Schwarzgelben’ can attract plenty of international superstars.
For many, the appeal of playing in front of the Yellow Wall is enough of an incentive.
Both homegrown and players hailing from overseas dream of pulling on that black and yellow strip.
Most of BVB’s biggest icons are German.
Marco Reus. Michael Zorc. Mats Hummels. The list goes on.
In the club’s most recent golden era, Jürgen Klopp’s iconic side included the Polish trio of Robert Lewandowski, Lukasz Piszczek and Jakub Blaszczykowski.
The 1997 European champions have had several stars from across the continent.
Erling Haaland. Jude Bellingham. Jadon Sancho. Ousmane Dembele.
Is Erling Haaland the best transfer business Borussia Dortmund have ever done?
If not, then who is? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/KPqNV41rYm
— Squawka (@Squawka) February 19, 2021
They’re just a few that spring to mind.
Others have wound up at Signal Iduna Park from further afield; Christian Pulisic from the USA and Shinji Kagawa from Japan being the main examples.
No foreigner has made more appearances for ‘die Borussen’ than Dede.
The legendary full-back is one of 12 Brazilian players to play for the club. In fact, Brazil are the most well-represented foreign nation in Dortmund history.
Their tally of 12 is one higher than Turkey’s 11. Poland, Switzerland and the Netherlands sit just behind the two with eight players each to their name.
But across the 114 year history of Borussia Dortmund, 17 countries have been represented by just one player each.
Here is the full list:
Gabon – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The greatest Gabonese footballer of all-time and one of Africa’s greatest exports.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has represented a whole host of football’s biggest clubs.
After making his name at French giant Saint-Étienne, ‘Auba’ joined Klopp’s Dortmund side that had just reached the Champions League final.
The striker went on to score 141 times in 213 appearances in black and yellow.
He has neither scored nor played more times for any other club.
Now 34, Aubameyang has since played for Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and Marseille.
In the south of France – his country of birth – he recently became the all-time top goalscorer in Europa League history.
Greece – Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Another man who arrived that same summer, Sokratis is the only Greek player to call Signal Iduna Park home.
The defender spent five years in North Rhine-Westphalia, before following Aubameyang to Arsenal in 2018.
Papastathopoulos played almost 200 times across that spell. He was an ever-present in the BVB backline, playing a key role in the club’s 2017 DFB-Pokal triumph under Thomas Tuchel.
Just over a week ago he announced his retirement from professional football.
Armenia – Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Indisputably the best ever Armenian footballer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan also signed for ‘die Schwarzgelben’ in 2013.
He would also leave for the Premier League after a successful spell, joining Manchester United in 2016.
‘Mkhi’ may have only spent three years as a ‘Borusse’, but his impact was certainly there for all to see.
His final season with the club saw the versatile midfielder register 11 goals and 20 assists in the Bundesliga.
In 2022 he retired from international football having won 95 caps for Armenia.
Romania – Marcel Raducanu
Borussia Dortmund’s only ever Romanian representative is 80’s midfield maestro Marcel Raducanu.
The midfielder was a regular for the club in his six-year spell from 1982 to 1988.
He scored 35 goals in almost 200 appearances in black and yellow.
His transfer to the Westfalenstadion came after he almost faced jail time for defecting Romania in 1981.
Montenegro – Branko Rasovic
Another blast from the past, the only Montenegrin player to represent ‘die Schwarzgelben’ is Branko Rasovic.
The defender spent five years with the club from 1969 to 1974, making 109 league appearances before retiring.
Colombia – Adrian Ramos
A more modern ‘one-nation wonder’ for ‘die Borussen’ is Colombia’s Adrian Ramos.
The striker had put up a terrific record while at Hertha BSC, helping the side from the capital to Bundesliga promotion on two occasions.
After joining in 2014 and making a strong start to life in North Rhine-Westphalia, Ramos could only manage 13 league goals in 52 appearances before leaving for China in 2017.
Morocco – Achraf Hakimi
One of BVB’s most esteemed post-Klopp era players, Achraf Hakimi remains the club’s only ever Moroccan.
Still regarded as one of world football’s best full-backs, the Real Madrid academy graduate moved to Signal Iduna Park on a two-year loan in 2018.
Hakimi had a hand in 29 goals across 73 appearances for the club in a spell fondly remembered by the Yellow Wall.
He has since gone on to play for Inter Milan and PSG.
Egypt – Mohamed Zidan
Dortmund’s only Egyptian representative is Bundesliga winner Mohamed Zidan.
A striker who had played under Jürgen Klopp previously at Mainz, Zidan joined the club in 2008.
In an almost four year spell in black and yellow, the former Hamburg and Werder Bremen man played 73 times, scoring 15 goals while assisting 10.
Senegal – Abdou Diallo
One of Africa’s most prominent football nations of recent history, Senegal’s only Borussia Dortmund representative is Abdou Diallo.
The defender only played at Signal Iduna Park for a season, as Lucien Favre’s ‘Borussen’ came close to Bundesliga glory in 2019.
His performances attracted interest from PSG, who snapped him up for €32m.
Diallo left the French capital to join Al-Arabi in Qatar last summer.
Uruguay – Ruben Sosa
Ruben Sosa had been a prolific goalscorer for both Lazio and Inter in Serie A during the late 1980’s/early 90’s.
The striker joined ‘die Schwarzgelben’ in 1995 but would only make eight league starts.
He registered three goals and five assists as Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side won their first of two successive ‘Meisterschalen’.
Sosa left after just a season.
Ukraine – Andriy Yarmolenko
In fitting with the theme, Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko only stayed in North Rhine-Westphalia for a year.
The 34-year-old arrived in the summer of 2017 – a transfer window that came to be seen as cursed.
⚫️🟡 Andriy Yarmolenko, #OTD in 2017 🔥@BVB | #UCL pic.twitter.com/nJOoOxg2si
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 13, 2021
Yarmolenko struggled to establish himself in the BVB side, which endured a torrid campaign under Peter Bosz, before injury troubles furthered hampered the Dynamo Kyiv legend’s spell in Germany.
Bulgaria – Dimitar Rangelov
Dimitar Rangelov put up some impressive numbers for Energie Cottbus in the Bundesliga from 2007 to 2009.
That form prompted Klopp to bring the striker to Dortmund to provide competition for Zidan and Lucas Barrios.
Rangelov only made one start for the club as he suffered a foot injury in November 2009.
Sweden – Alexander Isak
One of the more surprising nations on this list, Borussia Dortmund have only ever had one Swedish player.
That is the rather notable Alexander Isak.
A hot prospect with the world at his feet, the fast and physical forward signed for Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund for over €8m at just 17 years old in 2017.
Only Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer have scored more goals than the current Newcastle man in the Premier League this season.
But it didn’t work out for the Swede in black and yellow.
Isak made just 13 appearances for the club, before joining Real Sociedad permanently in 2019.
DR Congo – Kosi Saka
Former Democratic Republic of Congo international Kosi Saka was a ‘Borusse’ from the age of 14.
Saka went on to make 11 senior appearances for the club from 2005 to 2007.
He has since spent the rest of his career in the German lower divisions.
Jamaica – Daniel Gordon
While Usain Bolt once trained with ‘die Schwarzgelben’, the club’s only Jamaican player is Daniel Gordon.
Born in Dortmund, while sharing the black and yellow colours with club and country, Gordon played nine times for the club from 2007 to 2008.
Republic of Ireland – Patrick Kohlmann
Another man born in Dortmund but representing another country, Irish left-back Patrick Kohlmann also came through the club’s academy.
He played once for the first team in 2004, before having a fruitful career with Union Berlin and Holstein Kiel.
Cameroon – Patrick Njambe
BVB picked up a 17-year-old Patrick Njambe from Cameroon in 2004.
The centre-back/defensive midfielder progressed through the ranks at Signal Iduna Park and represented the senior team twice in 2007.
Njambe went on to win one cap for Cameroon while spending his playing days in the lower leagues of German football.
