Dreamed about it “so many times”.
©IMAGO
When a reporter hugged him while he was sobbing on the lawn, Sébastien Haller also shed a few tears. “We have dreamed of this moment so often,” said the Borussia Dortmund striker on Sunday evening, shortly after he scored the decisive 2-1 (0-1) for Ivory Coast in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations against Nigeria (to the match report) . The third title after 1992 and 2015 for this year’s host country is also a very special one for Haller.
“Haller-lujah!” wrote England legend Gary Lineker on X, formerly Twitter. Many observers recalled the special story of the 29-year-old striker, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the summer of 2022, shortly after his move from Ajax Amsterdam to BVB. After several months of treatment, Haller returned to the field.
His goals and assists enabled BVB to make a splendid comeback in the second half of the 2022/23 season, but when the championship seemed almost perfect, the striker’s nerves gave out. His missed penalty on matchday 34 against Mainz (2-2) contributed to the missed title – and at the same time initiated Haller’s sporting decline in Dortmund. So far this season he has only started four Bundesliga games and has not scored any goals in a total of eleven appearances. Its market value has fallen since the summer from 30 million to currently 18 million euros.
BVB striker Sébastien Haller rejected a loan move to FC Fulham
The lost championship title caused him more pain than the cancer diagnosis, Haller told “Sport Bild” in the fall. “Unsuccessful situations or missed opportunities wear on you. You think about what you could have done better. But especially during my illness, I also learned not to let negative things get to me so much.” Shortly before the transfer deadline he could have left BVB, the black and yellow gave the green light for negotiations with the English first division club FC Fulham. Haller himself rejected the loan transfer until the summer. His contract in Dortmund is valid until 2026.
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Despite BVB’s sporting misery, Haller impressed in the crucial moments of the Africa Cup. He was only allowed to start from the start in the semi-final against DR Congo (1-0) and in the final, and he scored the decisive goal twice. His story fits in with the crazy tournament run of the hosts, who were almost eliminated after a disastrous 4-0 defeat in the preliminary round against Equatorial Guinea. As third in the group, the Ivorians sneaked into the knockout phase – but without their coach Jean-Louis Gasset, from whom they parted ways with much fanfare.
Assistant Emerse Faé took over mainly because preferred candidate and former national coach Hervé Renard was not available quickly. “I would have loved it, but fate decided otherwise,” said Renard, who coaches the French footballers, in an interview with the TV channel “Canal Plus”. The 55-year-old won the tournament in 2015 with the “Éléphants” led by captain Yaya Touré. So fate drove Faé forward, who stated after the deserved final win against Nigeria: “It was an extraordinary tournament.” For him, for the Ivory Coast – and especially for Sébastien Haller.
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