The Duranvilles and the Campbells – Siblings at BVB

A wet and cold winter evening in Dortmund. Outside, it is unpleasant; inside, four teenagers are showing plenty of seriousness and just as much playfulness. Initially, you have to strain your ears to realise that a dig is not actually intended as such at all... 

"I'm very critical of Sarah on the pitch. When she misplaces a pass or doesn't move enough, then I shout out. Then I have to galvanise her." Julien Duranville, 17, holds his hand in front of his mouth. Did he just say that out loud? Then he continues in French. "Sarah is a very good player. A maestra on the pitch," he explains, looking at his German teacher and translator Michael Mangesius and chuckling: "But unfortunately, I haven't seen so many of her games so far. Sarah doesn't like it when I watch."

The BVB player is talking about his younger sister, who is sitting only half a metre away from him in the long meeting room at the Brackel headquarters. Sarah has been playing for the U17 girls' team at Borussia Dortmund since the summer. And her brother, who made the move from Anderlecht to the BVB first team in January last year, is her biggest fan at the club, but apparently a critic too.

Opposite them sit Cole Campbell (17), an U19 player, and his sister Chloe (16). Football can cause tempers to flare in this Icelandic-American family too. "She recently had a game against my other sister Caitlyn, who plays for VfL Bochum," said Cole. Chloe raises her eyebrows. What's coming next? "She played three misplaced passes and I tried to cheer her up. But she just brushed it off. And then I shouted something at her in Icelandic. And Chloe replied in Icelandic: "Shut up, now!"

Giggling follows. Typical siblings.

On this rainy Tuesday evening in December, the four Black & Yellow youngsters sit around a table. Four teenagers from two football-mad families, who are giving everything to help the boys to achieve their dream. Sarah and Julien come from Brussels (Belgium). Chloe, like Cole, was born in Houston, Texas (USA), before moving to Georgia, then to Iceland and finally to the Ruhr. Both girls left their homelands just to further the careers of their brothers. 

"I didn't want to at first. I loved my friends and my life there," says Chloe in a gentle voice. She speaks in English but understands the German language very well by now. She has been living with her mum Rakel, a former Iceland international, her father Lance and her siblings in Germany for one and a half years now. Their father is from the USA, where she grew up with her siblings Cole, Caitlyn (13) and Claire (9). "Three sisters?! It's a bit much. Lots of hormones," says Cole and laughs: "But it's very good. I love my family."

Not going with them would have never been an option. "I love my family," repeats Chloe, who continues: "It would have be more difficult to stay behind. We have to stay together for the final years of our childhood and youth. Yes, it was a difficult step. But it is worth it. And I would've have it any other way." The Campbell siblings to the Leibniz-Gymnasium in Dortmund. "Now I've gotten used to the move. I like Dortmund," says Chloe, who finishes her train of thought: "And I like playing for Dortmund."

Except for the youngest sister Claire, who does gymnastics, all the siblings play football for the club. "My father always jokes and says that he's a professional taxi driver," says Cole. His dad sits in the car pretty much all day and ferries his kids from A to B. The American Dad does everything to help his children fulfil their goals. "When I think about it, my parents have been doing this since I was 12 years old. My former club in the United States, Atlanta United, was more than an hour away from our home. So Dad drove two and a half hours for me every day. And another 45 minutes for my sister."

Cole joined FH Hafnarfjörður in Iceland in January 2020 and made his professional debut in the top flight aged 15, before moving to BVB in summer 2022. Each move with the entire family. That's how Chloe got to know her new friend Sarah in the summer. They play together for Borussia Dortmund's newly founded U17 girls' team. They're in top spot in the Kreisliga table with a goal difference of 117-0 and won the Kreispokal in November. Sarah scored the goal to make it 2-0 in the final.

The family has to come too

"I was initially a bit upset about Julien's decision to leave Brussels and come to Dortmund," the final goalscorer says. "For me it was clear: If I decided to make the move to Dortmund, the family would need to come for support," adds the young Julien. After making the transfer, he alternated between living with his mother Masamba and his father Fréderick in a hotel at the beginning. The family was then finally reunited in the summer. His parents and his siblings Romane, Baptiste and Sarah all moved to Dortmund.

After several weeks of a German crash course at the Goethe-Gymnasium, with her teachers are praising her feel and skills for the language, Sarah quickly moved up to the top class. "On the first day, people came up to me and went crazy: 'Are you Duranville's sister?'" says Sarah, recalling her first day at school in Germany. Her brother is obviously a little bit embarrassed when she speaks about it. The two Belgian teenagers giggle again. "But now it's okay." Sarah still goes to Belgium approximately twice a month and visits her homeland. In the meantime, she is settling in well in Dortmund.

Julien learns German several times a week with a private tutor provided by BVB. Because he comes from the Flemish part of Belgium, the language sounds familiar to him to some degree. He understands almost everything, but is still struggling a little bit with speaking, just as he is – for health reasons – with the next steps in the first team.

Borussia Dortmund's young prospect has only been able to make one competitive appearance in 12 months. He arrived from Anderlecht with a muscle injury, which proved to be stubborn. Only on the final day of the league season against Mainz (2-2) on 27 May did Edin Terzic bring on the young Belgian. He showed some strong dribbling skills and actions on his debut in front of the Yellow Wall. He was a ray of light in one of the darkest hours of the club's history. "It felt like a release," explains the teenager. "I came onto the pitch and I was only thinking: 'I've finally managed it.' This is why I came here. It was an inner release." Unfortunately the next setback followed soon afterwards. Julien initially put BVB 1-0 ahead in the second minute of the first friendly on the USA Tour – a 6-0 victory against San Diego Loyal. After a lay-off from Youssoufa Moukoko, he hammered the ball into the net with his right foot. With a broad grin on his face, he high-fived his new team-mates. Less than a quarter of an hour later, he walked off the pitch looking dejected. Another twinge in his thigh saw the young dribbler rule out of the first half of the season.

The Belgian makes no secret of how difficult that moment was: "The moment I scored the goal, I thought I could finally go up a gear and really put my foot on the gas. What happened afterwards was a huge disappointment." He had to start again from square one.

Julien Duranville did his rehab in the Ruhr region. He underwent treatment and trained carefully at the same time. An attempted comeback with the U19s, where he got to know Cole, failed in October. It was only at the end of December that tests finally gave him the green light to return to team training soon. He was back on the pitch with the first team prior to the Champions League game against PSG but was not ready for the squad. The winger said: "I'm now stronger. I've trained a great deal in order to prevent injuries. I feel lighter, calmer and stronger. I can't wait to help the team reach their full potential."

As an U19 player, Cole Campbell is still a step behind that. He is currently making headlines in the UEFA Youth League and played his best match in the 2-2 draw in Newcastle, where he notched a goal and an assist. The ambitious attacker has already trained with Edin Terzic's squad but he is a key component of Mike Tullberg's A-Youth team as one of the younger year group players. Campbell is seen as a workhorse.

Free time, which he enjoys spending with U19 friends Gustav Aabro and schoolmate William Rashidi, is in short supply between training sessions, matches and schoolwork. Even on holiday, he trains obsessively and does not give himself a break – which his sister admires about him. The BVB youngster says: "The U19s is only supposed to be an intermediate step on the way to the first team. I'm waiting for God to choose the right time for me and until then I shall try to get better every day. I will be ready."

In addition to their family stories, the two young footballers have something else in common: a close connection to their faith. The connection has grown after the move to Germany. "It comes from my mum. But given the worries and injuries, the ups and downs, there was only one solution for me: faith," explains Julien, who continues: "The moment I opened the Bible, I felt it." It's a similar story for Cole Campbell. "When I came to Dortmund, I started seeking God more. The first eight months here were hard. I started reading the Bible. It's a blessing for me."

That's also how the fleet-footed U19 dribbler responds when asked about his sense of responsibility. How does it feel when your family moves to another country just because of your career? "I'm incredibly lucky that God has given me such a nice family," says Cole. "There are bad training sessions and bad games. It's important that there's not only football here, but also my family and friends. So, yeah, they've really made sacrifices for me. I can't thank them enough for that."

The four teenagers giggle again when they are asked what they envy about their respective siblings. Chloe quickly comes up with something. Her brother's "dedication" in terms of how he follows through on things and tackles them. Then there's a short break to think. "I usually have a direct connection and believe the people sitting opposite me. Sarah is a little more distant and waits and sees. She looks at things first and is often right in her judgement," adds Julien. And he means that in a positive way. Sarah: "That's true. But if I think I have to say something to a person, then boom, it comes shooting out. And Julien always remains very polite and considerate. I'd like that too."

Goal: The first team

Of his sister, Cole says: "I see that she is there for her friends even when they perhaps don't deserve it. Sometimes, when people don't treat me well, I make a cut. I want to be more like her." Chloe's big goal is to be promoted to the senior women's team at Borussia Dortmund! She has six goals in the scoring charts. "She's super fast. The quickest girl that I've ever seen," says her elder brother. They say she could easily play at a higher level. Next season, she will be too old for the U17s. Chloe's aspirations are a match for the club's. The objective for the Borussia Dortmund senior women's team, which will likely gain promotion from the Landesliga to the Verbandsliga this season, is to rise all the way up to the top flight. 

Sarah, a left-footed midfielder, is even more self-confident. "I want to be in the first team. But my long-term goal is to play in the Women's Bundesliga," she says. Preferably with BVB. She is regarded as very talented on the pitch and previously played for her favourite Belgian club RSC Anderlecht. It is said in Dortmund that Sarah is also far too good for the Kreisliga.

Dortmund represents a new start for the two families. They are by no means the only ones whose lives have completely changed due to a football transfer. All four teenagers are quick to agree on the biggest adjustment: the German culture. Julien quickly comes out with it: "In Belgium, people are cooler and more relaxed. Everything is organised here and everything is tack, tack, tack." Chloe: "Yes! It's so strict here. Crazy."

Over time, this organised Westphalian metropolis has become a new home for all four. Their words about their respective siblings are extremely sweet – except when the brothers stand on the sidelines. Then things can get rowdy.
Author: Jonas Ortmann
Photos: Alexandre Simoes

The article is from the members' magazine BORUSSIA. BVB members receive a copy of BORUSSIA free of charge every month. Click here to become a member.