Exclusive Czech legend: I rejected Fulham in 2001 as club is not big enough for me

By Alessandro Schiavone in Prague

Jan Koller revealed that he rebuffed Fulham’s advances in the same summer Edwin Van der Sar left Juve for Craven Cottage because the club wasn’t big enough for him.

Although the 6ft 7ins Czech juggernaut was the subject of an enticing offer from the Cottagers and was eager to join them, Champions League giants Borussia Dortmund, who had won Ol Big Ears four years previously, hijacked the deal.

At the time he claimed that the opportunity to play in Europe’s premier competition flipped the script.

And it paid off as Koller spearheaded Dortmund’s Bundesliga win in 2002.

Now 25 years on, Koller told Capital Football that he’d only have come to England for one of the big boys.

He said: “I wanted to play in England and before going to Dortmund I had a call to make between them and Fulham.

“But Dortmund or Fulham (he gesticulates with his hand, pointing to the top when referring to Dortmund)…. The Germans are higher.

“If it had been Manchester United, Arsenal or Liverpool I may have come to England…

“That’s why I picked Germany and Borussia Dortmund.”

Without Koller, the newly-promoted west Londoners were unable to find goalscoring momentum that season as they averaged less than a goal per match, scoring 'only' 36 times in 38 outings.

Malbranque, Hayles and Saha were their topscorers, with eight strikes apiece while Koller went on to locate the onion bag 79 times in 184 appearances for die Schwarzgelben.