Matthias Sammer - The collector of titles: the Dresden-born player arrived in Dortmund in 1993 as a midfielder after a thoroughly unsuccessful spell at Inter Milan. Sammer, always something of a coach on the pitch, had fallen out with Inter coach Osvaldo Bagnoli and wanted only to return to the Bundesliga. Dortmund completed the major winter transfer, and Ottmar Hitzfeld recognized his strength in duels, converting him into a libero.\n\nThe success rate was astonishing: two German titles in 1995 and 1996, the Champions League in 1997 and the Intercontinental Cup.
In his pomp he became the prototype of a leader, indispensable also for the national team. With Sammer at the back, Germany won Euro 1996 and he was named European Footballer of the Year.\n\nAfter his early playing career ended because of a knee inflammation that would not heal, he returned as coach in 2000, led Dortmund to the 2002 title and became the youngest title-winning coach in Bundesliga history. Since 2018 the Lion from Saxony has been back at Dortmund as an external advisor.