'Best version of myself' - Cole Campbell finds another gear as USMNT prospect embraces fresh start at Elversberg

The comparisons were obvious. Dortmund had another American, which meant there would be role models to follow but also a standard to uphold. Could Campbell be the next Christian Pulisic? Or the next Gio Reyna? What could he do better than both?

"I think they're both great players," Campbell says now, more than two years after those comparisons entered his life at age 18. "Me and Gio are good friends. I haven't met Christian yet, but I think being compared to great players is always a good thing. For me, I'm not really focused on the comparison. I believe comparison is the thief of joy....I'm only focused on my career, on my path. I think everyone's is different, and the path that I've chosen, I believe, is the right one and the one that God has for me.

"I'm focused day by day, becoming the best version of myself. I think that my path is different from someone else's, so I don't think there's any right path. I think every player's is different."

Campbell's path hasn't quite been smooth. He made his Borussia Dortmund debut in October 2024, coming on in a 2-1 loss to FC Augsburg. He went on to make six total appearances that season but, during the first half of the 2025-26 campaign, he made just one. That's why he was loaned out to Hoffenheim but despite having a buy option at the end, Campbell's couldn't earn a permanent deal as he made just five appearances before leaving.

That's why he knew he needed a change this summer. At age 20, he needed to play. Enter Elversberg.

"I would say the main thing was I wanted to, I needed to, get minutes for my career," he said. "I needed to play a lot more and play a bigger role than what I had at Dortmund. I think that the move, for me, was very important. Now, I'm getting minutes, which is the most important thing for me to develop and to become the best player that I can be. I think the step in my career was the right one, and I'm happy that I came here."

Campbell has seemingly found a new home, and the early returns have been good enough to generate excitement.

No disrespect intended, but SV Elversberg are not a big club. The municipality it represents is home to less than 15,000 people. Its stadium is big enough to host just about everyone who calls the area home. In 2023, the club was in the second division for the very first time. Now, in 2026, they're in the Bundesliga, creating more history.

There are previous success stories, though. The most notable was Nick Woltemade, whose loan spell at the club began a rise that saw the 6-foot-6 striker join Newcastle and Juventus.

Yet it was still surprising to see Campbell sign with the club this summer. How did a total Bundesliga newcomer convince a player with Campbell's potential to sign up? By showing him a plan.

"Whenever you want to join a club, I think it's important that you learn what they've done in the past, which obviously influences how you feel about going there," Campbell said. "I had a lot of conversations with the coach, with the sporting director, and with the people around the club. They explained their plan and what the club is about.

"When you have other players that have gone there, they've gotten their minutes, and they've developed and made a big step for themselves. I think obviously it helps. That had an influence on me coming here. I decided I needed to get more minutes and have a club that believes in me and that gives me the support and the backing to become the best version of myself."

Through just a few games, Campbell has already shown flashes of that. With the American helping to lead the charge, the club won each of its first three games. The first was a 3-1 win over Duisburg in the cup, but then came the big ones against established Bundesliga sides. Led by a Campbell goal, the club defeated Bayer Leverkusen, 3-2, before then winning a seven-goal shootout against Borussia Monchengladbach next time out.

Then came Bayern. In that match, little Elversberg gave the Bundesliga's biggest giants all they could handle, falling 2-1 in the end. The result could have been different if Campbell's first-half goal counted, but his sprint past Upamecano was waved off in the end. Still, it was a warning shot and an example of what Campbell can do, even against the best.

"I think the game, the energy, would have been a bit different for the last minutes in the first half," Campbell said, "but I think it was an amazing feeling, even though it didn't count."

Goal or no goal, Campbell will be hoping that people saw the moment for what it was. More specifically, he'll be hoping one particular person saw it: USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Campbell, like almost everyone else, watched the World Cup this summer. It felt different for him. Part of that was, of course, because it was in the United States, but it was also new to see people he called friends and teammates play at that level. He wants to be there someday, too.

"I think the World Cup was amazing," he said. "To see how many fans came out, even before this, I was sure about my decision just from how everyone around the federation was. As a kid, you dream of these types of things, and to see this, I hope one day to be at a World Cup and to represent my country."

His country, of course, is the U.S., and the decision he referred to was his choice to represent the USMNT internationally. Campbell, whose mother is a former Icelandic international, spent large chunks of his childhood in Iceland, where he also began his professional career. His roots, though, are in the U.S., as he grew up in Texas and Georgia. That's why he's committed to representing the U.S.

"I've already made my decision to switch to the U.S.," he said. "It was for a lot of different reasons, but my future is with the U.S., and that's set. I have no second thoughts or anything. That's a thing, for me, that's set in stone."

Over the last two years, Campbell has had what he says is "on and off" contact with U.S. Soccer. It began when he was at Dortmund, leading to opportunities at the U-19, U-20 and U-23 levels. That first senior call-up remains a goal of his, though, and with the USMNT starting anew entering the 2030 World Cup cycle, he's hoping to earn that chance.

"That's what I want," he said. "I want to play for my country...I'm just looking forward to, hopefully, my first call-up, and then, from there, we will see. My goals, I will keep to myself, but yeah, we will see what happens in the future."

To get to the USMNT, Campbell will first have to put together a resume at Elversberg. That's started, but it's still early. He's played just 174 minutes so far and, while those minutes brought optimism, the Bundesliga season is long.

Many expect it could feel even longer for Elversberg. Given the size of the club and the history of the clubs in their way, many expected them to struggle. It hasn't happened yet. They beat two established teams and gave Bayern a real game. So far, the club has defied all expectations.

"Coming up in the Bundesliga as a new team, no one really expects anything from us," Campbell said. "I think the expectations were actually quite the opposite of what we've already shown. It was absolutely amazing to win against a great team like Leverkusen, and to change the game as we did and come back from 3-1 to turn it around and win the game against Gladbach, which is also an amazing team.

"I think as a team coming up for the first time, we broke records as far as winning two games in a row, broke records. They're not expecting this to happen, for sure, but I think we take it day by day. We give 100 percent. We give our best, and then, yeah, we see what happens on the pitch."

Can Campbell and Co. keep it going? Will their best be enough? It'll be difficult, for sure, and the road won't get any easier. The bumpy roads slowed down Campbell before, though, and, with a lot of effort and even more luck, maybe this one will be a bit more autobahn: smoother and quicker than people think.