Flavio adds flair to Dortmund ranks

Permanent move possible
The 29-year-old, who had been tipped to move to English club Middlesbrough FC, will spend a season at the Westfalenstadion, with Dortmund having an option to make the transfer permanent next summer. "I am enthusiastic about moving to Germany," the player said. "They are playing in the [UEFA] Champions League this season."

Six Brazilians
The international, who was not included in Madrid's pre-season tour of Asia, will become the fifth Brazilian at Dortmund after joining compatriots Evanilson, Ewerthon, Leandro, Dede and Marcio Amoroso. Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said: "He was our ideal new signing."

Limited chances
Flavio moved to Madrid for a reported €26m in August 2000 from RC Deportivo La Coruña but struggled with injuries in his first two seasons. The international then made only a handful of appearances for Madrid in the 2002/03 campaign and the arrival of David Beckham had pushed him further down the pecking order at the Spanish champions.

Key players out
Dortmund travel to FC Schalke 04 on Saturday to begin their Bundesliga campaign, but have been plagued by problems in the build-up to the new season. Evanilson and Torsten Frings will miss up to six months each after suffering serious knee injuries, while new club captain Christoph Metzelder has an achilles complaint that will cause him to miss the first three weeks of the season. Sebastian Kehl, meanwhile, has been banned for the first six games after a sending off in pre-season.