Fabrice Lion was born in Huy, Belgium, in 1975. Today, he lives in Visé, a small town between Liège and Maastricht. Fabrice regularly travels to Borussia Dortmund games.

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When did you become a Borussia Dortmund fan?
“I have always been a great fan of soccer and a Standard of Liège supporter. When I was 24 years old, I was living in Germany but had no contact with Borussia Dortmund. Years later, I heard that Axel Witsel was going to join Dortmund and that’s how I came to watch my first game at the stadium in Dortmund. My dad and I watched the 3–0 win in the Champions League game against AS Monaco on October 3, 2018. I was very impressed by the atmosphere in what was a completely sold-out stadium. I will always remember one scene that gave me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. When everyone in the stadium was singing ’You’ll never walk alone’, I noticed a woman with her daughter right behind us. The mother was filled with emotion and crying with excitement. At that moment, I knew for certain: This was definitely not my last time here!”

Which games did you find most exciting?
“It has to be the game on October 24, 2018 where Borussia Dortmund won 4–0 in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, with one goal by our compatriot Axel Witsel. I also recall that fabulous turnaround against Inter Milan in the Champions League on November 5, 2019. We were 0–2 down at half time. Then Borussia Dortmund came back and played an extraordinary second half. We scored three goals. The third goal by Achraf Hakimi literally made the stadium explode. Then most recently, there was the draw against Bayern Munich on October 8, 2022 after being 0–2 down when our boys made an amazing comeback – that really sticks in my memory. It was a testimony to the ability of the coach and the players to cope with any situation. The players fought hard, spurred each other on and finally snatched a draw at the 95th minute of the game. Incredible!”

Tell us something about your fan club known as “Lion’s Black & Yellow BVB09 Belgium.”
“Lion is my real last name. I thought it made for a good mix. So no wonder I’m the president of the fan club located in the French-speaking part of Belgium, in Visé, where I’m supported by Nicolas Urbain. I organize activities on match days but also outside of match days, such as dinner in the center of Dortmund after the game. I arrange where we are all going to meet. It involves a lot of multi-tasking and I love it. I go to all the home games and try to go to as many away games as possible. If I can’t go to a game at the stadium, I call some friends, jump in my car and meet them in a pub in Dortmund to watch the game on the big screen. ’Long live Borussia Dortmund!’”
Interview: Uwe Schedlbauer

In this section, our main sponsor Evonik, who supports us at all of our international games, lets soccer fans who feel close to Borussia Dortmund but live nowhere near SIGNAL IDUNA PARK have their say.

Julien Duranville is yet another technically gifted Belgian who joined Borussia Dortmund just earlier this year. Only turning 17 at the beginning of May, the young outfielder opted to join the club because it can propel young players like himself to international stardom. Just as Borussia Dortmund, Evonik’s Antwerp site is likewise in the international league. With a workforce of around 1,000, it is the specialty chemicals company’s largest site outside Germany. Located directly at the port, it is ideally connected by rail, road and pipeline network, hence boosting the Group’s international business. Raw materials are produced here for the manufacture of silicones for the electronics & communications market as well as for solar cells. Other products are used in the printing, paints & coatings market as binders for paints and coatings, for the tire industry, as bleaching agents and in agriculture.