Sébastien Haller and the reward for a fighter of life: first he won the battle against cancer and now he is a national hero of Ivory Coast

Sebastien Haller it became last Sunday the national hero In Ivory Coastafter scoring the goal that allowed his team to win the third African Cup of his story and be an example of life by overcoming testicular cancer that kept him away from the playing field for six months.

The elephants They beat Nigeria 2-1 at the Embipé Olympic Stadium where the Ivorians, hosts of the tournament, overcame the opening goal of Troost-Ekong thanks to the goals of Kessie AND Hallerin front of Borussia Dortmundthe great protagonist of the evening.

Haller, the fighter

“It’s nice to have a little reward, to continue to believe in what I do and believe that there is always a purpose”were Haller’s words in the post-match interview, recalling the moment he was diagnosed with cancer and the ankle injury suffered in December 2023 which put his participation in the tournament in doubt, preventing him from participating in the group stage, in which the Ivorians were on the verge of elimination.

Haller, who had already become a star by scoring the only goal in the semi-final against the Democratic Republic of Congo that secured his place in the final, was diagnosed with a problem two weeks after signing for the German club in July 2022 testicular cancer while he was doing the preseason in Switzerland.

After two surgeries and chemotherapy to defeat the diseasethe player returned to the field only six months later, on the sixteenth matchday of the Bundesliga with a 4-3 victory against Augsburg.

Now, in February 2024, a year after his reappearance, Sébastien Haller is the hero of an Ivorian team that has managed to win its third trophy, after the successes of 1992 and 2015.

Although he has only scored two goals in a German Cup round of 32 match against fourth-division Schott Mainz this season, Haller is looking to rediscover his best self to help Borussia Dortmund finish in the top four of the Bundesliga .

A decision that changed his life

Born in the streets of Ris-Orangis, on the outskirts of Paris, the striker began defending the colors of France and played in the Under-17 World Cup in 2011, where Les Bleus They were defeated in the quarterfinals after losing to Mexico 1–2.

Haller continued to defend the colors of France where in the Under 21 category he scored thirteen goals in sixteen matches, but a call from Ivory Coast changed everything AND he decided to play for the national team of his mother’s hometownwhere he became the great figure of the Elephants.

A winding road

Quite complex for Ivory Coast, despite being the host nation of the tournament. They finished third in their group and reached the decisive round through the back door after Mozambique helped them come back with two goals in three minutes in the match against Ghana. At that point, the management had already decided to fire coach Jean-Louis Gasset.

Thus, with Emerse Faé in interim, they eliminated Senegal on penalties and Mali with goals per minute – in the 90s and 120s – and in the final they changed history against Nigeria. A fairytale tournament that had Haller as its great character.

Source: EFE