Exciting debut at FC Basel for BVB loanee Duranville | OneFootball

Finally playing football again. At Borussia Dortmund, Julien Duranville couldn't get past the role of a luxury substitute. With the loan to FC Basel, the just 19-year-old winger hopes to get back on the road to success. His debut was quite unusual.

The first half of the 2025/26 season was extremely unsatisfactory for Duranville. Initially, a shoulder joint injury sidelined the Belgian for months. Although fit again, he couldn't find his footing. He didn't play for BVB's first team anymore, but he did appear twice for the U23s in the regional league.

His coach recently criticized him publicly. Regarding the chances of the 8.5-million-man in attack, Niko Kovač (54) stated unambiguously: "We have seven players for three positions. He is the seventh."

Until the end of this season, Duranville will lace up his football boots in Switzerland. Last Sunday (January 25), he made his first appearance for his new club. FC Basel visited FC Zurich in the Super League. In a turbulent match, where the lead changed several times, it was 3-3 until injury time. The BVB loanee came onto the field in the 68th minute.

In the 90+4 minute, Duranville, while falling, assisted Xherdan Shakiri (34). The FCB captain decided the exciting encounter with his third goal. The team celebrated a 4-3 win and three points, while the former Dortmund player enjoyed his personal success.

Job lost despite victory

However, the match between the traditional clubs had far-reaching consequences. Despite the away victory, Basel's head coach Ludovic Magnin (46), who once played for Werder Bremen and VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, lost his job. "Due to a lack of sporting development, FC Basel 1893 has decided to make a head coach change," the club announced in a statement.

In the standings, the reigning double winner is only in fourth place. Surprise leader FC Thun is already ten points ahead of Basel. "The hoped-for turnaround did not materialize despite a good preparation," explained sporting director Daniel Stuck (44) for the decision.

For Duranville, this means having to adjust to a new coach shortly after arriving. The new man on the sidelines is Stephan Lichtsteiner (42), who was under contract with clubs including FC Augsburg and Juventus Turin.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.