When 96-Shopping França Was Suddenly 6 Cm Shorter – “What Can I Say? I Was Surprised”

Only scouted via video

Transfer negotiations can be tough, lengthy and full of stumbling blocks. Professionals sometimes want to force their move to their dream club and in doing so they risk a lot of trouble with their current employer, lose credit with the fans or cause astonishment among their superiors. Transfermarkt looks at transfers in the past that were characterized by loud background noise. Niko Kovac’s move from Hamburger SV to FC Bayern in the summer of 2001 was such a case, as was Heiko Herrlich’s transfer from Borussia Mönchengladbach to Borussia Dortmund in 1995 and Andreas Möller’s courageous move from BVB to Schalke in 2000. This time the focus is on the move of the Brazilian França to Hannover 96 during the 2012/13 winter break.

Hannover 96 finished the first half of the 2012/13 season in eleventh place. Lower Saxony had successfully finished the previous seasons in seventh and fourth place and played internationally in the Europa League for the second time in a row. Glorious times with coach Mirko Slomka and high-flyers like Mame Diouf (25), Ron-Robert Zieler (24), Lars Stindl (24), Mohammed Abdellaoue (27) and Didier Ya Konan (29). Because it should stay that way, more was added in the winter. Sports managing director Jörg Schmadtke had already secured the commitments of central defender Johan Djourou (25, FC Arsenal) and defensive player Andre Hoffmann (19, MSV Duisburg). Among other things, they were still missing a robust man for the defensive midfield. The solution was called Wellington Wildhy Muniz dos Santos, or França for short. What could possibly go wrong?

96 put 1.3 million euros on the table for the Brazilian in January 2013. He was released from Coritiba FC and given a contract until 2016. Manager Rodrigo Pastanam of second division club Criciúma Esporte Clube, where França previously played on loan, announced: “The offer from Germany is very good. We wish him much success there.” And the youngster was welcomed with open arms in Germany. “I am looking forward to França and am sure that he will look for his opportunity with us motivated and with great ambition. I had excellent experiences with South Americans and learned to appreciate their commitment and enthusiasm. I am convinced that França will also show the same thing,” 96 head coach Slomka was quoted as saying.

There was only one thing he hadn’t expected, as it soon turned out. According to the club’s statement, sports director Schmadtke said: “At 1.90 meters and 88 kilograms, França has physical qualities that he brings to his game with great passion. He’s a robust type of player who, in my opinion, will make his way with us.” It’s just stupid that França’s measurements were obviously cheated a little bit. And Coach Slomka, at 1.87 meters tall, unintentionally towered over the warmly welcomed newcomer. It all started with two centimeters being subtracted from the original 1.90 meters. The first act of a curious damage limitation. “Unfortunately that was misquoted. I said he was 1.88 meters. The press office then wrote 1.90 meters. A small oversight. “But that’s not a major problem,” Schmadtke clarified in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Well, yes.

Hannover 96: New signing França had to be measured

So 1.88 meters instead of 1.90 meters. One thought. But it wasn’t like that. Because Slomka called in his assistant and had França take measurements. “What can I say? I was surprised,” he said when asked by “Bild”. In reality, the Brazilian newcomer was reportedly only 1.81 meters tall. “That’s not true. We measured,” Schmadtke then corrected. All right then. After a careful examination, the “new” length was officially set at 1.82 meters. Accordingly, França was at least six centimeters shorter than hoped. What a fiasco! Or maybe not?

The manager tried to explain: “França was an unusual transfer because we didn’t see him live before. All the publications said he was 1.88 meters tall. But it doesn’t matter that he’s a little smaller now. We do not oblige by centimeter measurement. Otherwise I would only hang around in basketball halls in the future.” That would be too much of a good thing. In an interview with Schmadtke, the “SZ” interjected that the stated 88 kilos were not that little given that he was only 1.82 meters tall. The sports director’s answer: “I didn’t have it on the scales with me. The fact is, he’s coming straight from vacation and will need a few weeks until he’s fit for the Bundesliga. But we knew that beforehand.” Then everything would be clarified. Schmadtke concluded jokingly: “We briefly considered sending the player back home.” It is not known whether França was able to laugh at the fuss that arose around him.

In any case, his time in Hanover was by no means a laughing matter. For the Reds, the South American, who – as of the end of 2024 – is in 39th place in the ranking of record purchases, did not play in a single competitive game. He went down in the club’s history as a transfer flop. First the discussions about his size dominated events, then França suffered a knee injury in the first test match and the bacterial infectious disease tuberculosis (TBC). “I’m incredibly sorry for França. The most important thing now is that he gets well again. We wish him the best recovery and know that he is in good hands with the doctors treating him,” said Schmadtke, promising him support. Slomka added: “I got to know him in the first few weeks as a player with a great attitude who will recover from this setback. The defensive professional was in the isolation ward in the hospital for 33 days.

The following summer, when Hannover crossed the finish line in ninth place, everything finally got better for the Brazilian. Unlike some of his compatriots in Bundesliga history, França returned from home a week before training started and brought his wife and daughter with him. “Everything is easier now with the two of them here. It’s like a new start for me,” he said hopefully. “I hope that I can train with the team quickly. I want to fight for my place in the team.”

Unfortunately, good intentions were to remain the same. At the beginning of 2014, Hannover 96 França was awarded to newly promoted first division team Palmeiras São Paulo until the end of the year. “What’s important for França now is match practice. I wish him better luck at Palmeiras than he has had with us in recent months,” said 96 sports director Dirk Dufner, who succeeded Schmadtke in April 2013. Via Palmeiras we continued within Brazil to Figueirense FC. From there, França was not supposed to return to his parent club Hannover 96, which continued to cover part of the salary. A transfer fee was utopian for the Lower Saxony two years after the purchase. “Unfortunately no one will buy it. Economically, for us it’s about limiting damage. We will terminate the contract at 96 and he will then sign a new contract in Brazil,” said club boss Martin Kind to “Bild”. At least a severance payment was not necessary. “We don’t want to do that. It is enough.”

Shortly after the turbulence, the managing director announced consequences as part of the obligation. Signing a player without seeing him live? Not with him. “It won’t happen again. Personal observation and discussions must be standard for transfers. In individual cases we have now done things differently. Schmadtke and coach Slomka saw the player on videos and both said: “That’s him!” said Kind at the end of January 2013. His words were not associated with a direct accusation against the sporting leadership duo. “Our four winter transfers were an incredible workload. A flight to South America was not possible.” Meanwhile, Schmadkte and Slomka got along less and less and hardly spoke to each other anymore in the spring of 2013. “The relationship between the two is critical, as many people know,” revealed President Kind.

In addition to the fuss about França: There was also trouble at Hannover 96 because of Wszolek

Speaking of winter transfers. In addition to França, the 20-year-old Pole Pawel Wszolek was also supposed to come to the Bundesliga club as a replacement for the injured Lars Stindl; the variable midfielder’s move from Polonia Warsaw was imminent. Until Wszolek canceled the deal without further ado, didn’t show up for the medical check and was apparently no longer reachable by phone. A transfer fee of up to 1.5 million euros was in question. 96 manager Schmadtke personally got on the plane to Warsaw after the player asked for time to think about it: “The boy probably got a little cold feet.”

All efforts were in vain, even though, according to Schmadtkte, “a transfer agreement and the appendix to his employment contract were signed.” The manager was angry and said he had never experienced anything like that. “The signs are increasing that he doesn’t think he has to come. We will take legal action and involve UEFA. He lied to us.” And further: “I consider the behavior to be dubious and unacceptable. Even a 20-year-old should know what he is signing, what he is doing and not doing.” Wszolek said many years later about the incidents that he had never signed with Hannover and was simply taken by surprise. Whatever it actually was in the end: January 2013 was definitely a wild and turbulent one at 96. Even if, at least in one case, it was only a matter of centimeters. In any case, it didn’t do the strained relationship between Schmadtke and Slomka any good.