Dortmund show Amoroso door

Knee injury
Dortmund reached an agreement with the Brazilian to cancel his contract, which had been due to end in 2005. Amoroso, 29, made four appearances at the start of the season, scoring four times, but has been in his home country since picking up a knee ligament injury last September.

'Lack of respect'
Managing director Michael Meier earlier this week criticised the player for "a total lack of respect for his club", a reference to what Dortmund considered his increasingly unreliable attitude since acquiring a new agent in Nivaldo Baldo, his former therapist.

Brazil return likely
Should he now join another Bundesliga club, Dortmund would be able to claim a compensation fee of €5m. Amoroso, who scored 28 goals in 59 Bundesliga matches after arriving from AC Parma in 2001, is expected to join a club in Brazil.

’A new future’
Meanwhile, Herrlich has announced that he is to quit playing in the summer to concentrate on a coaching career with Dortmund's junior teams. The 32-year-old is contracted to the club until 2005 but said: "Money is not everything in life. I am grateful that BVB are opening up a new future for me."

Relief at decision
Herrlich won the UEFA Champions League and European/South American Cup with Dortmund in 1997 as well as two Bundesliga titles, but failed to recapture his best form after recovering from a brain tumour diagnosed in 2000. "I feel relieved," he said. "I have been trying hard in the reserves, but it became obvious that there is no chance of me getting back to my best."