 Four days later, he was in the start-up team in a 1–0 win against Borussia Dortmund, but he was substituted off after 58 minutes due to a poor performance.He failed to settle in the first team, leaving Bundesliga after just 162 minutes of league football without scoring a goal.After he passed his medical, Niculae joined Scottish Premier League's Inverness Caledonian Thistle, signing a two-year contract on 18 July 2007.