CAN 2024: Sébastien Haller, from the announcement of his cancer to the decisive goal in the final with Ivory Coast

Sébastien Haller, héros ivoirien lors de la finale. MAXPPP – LEGNAN KOULA

Déjà unique buteur des siens en demi-finale pour venir à bout du Congo, Sébastien Haller a une nouvelle fois été décisif en finale face au Nigéria (2-1). Une renaissance après un an et demi de galère marquées par un cancer des testicules diagnostiqué en juillet 2022.

Sébastien Haller almost did not play a single minute of the CAN. Announced as the star of the Ivory Coast team, his portrait all over the country on billboards for water, telephone or civic campaigns, the " Little Drogba" arrived with an ankle injury and was unable to play the first round. He was going through an ordeal…

In July 2022, two weeks after his signing at Borussia Dortmund, for 31 million euros, the striker trained at AJ Auxerre joined the team. is diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Decisive with the Elephants

After six months of treatment including chemotherapies, the native of Ris-Orangis overcame the illness and was able to return to the pitch at the start of 2023. After 9 goals in 19 matches at the end of last season, Haller  remained for half a season without a goal with Dortmund, except in the German Cup against an amateur club, before appearing at the CAN.

Followed very closely by the medical and technical staff but without playing in the first round. After the 4-0 against Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast was on the verge of elimination, and Haller risked making his very difficult season even worse. But the striker came on at the end of the match against Senegal in the round of 16 and gradually gained momentum. One of his passes leads to the equalizing penalty, and he converts his shot on goal (1-1, 5 tab to 4).

Heroes of the Finals

In the quarterfinals against Mali (2-1 ap.), he entered the break ten against eleven, after the exclusion of Odilon Kossounou, and sacrificed himself. "Without him we would not have fixed the Malian defense", explains to AFP the captain of the & quot;Elephants" African champions in 1992, Gadji Celi. "At ten, we need someone up front, we have no choice, we swing for him and he gets fouls, he keeps the ball to allow us to go back".

🌍 #beINCAN2023 #NIGCIV
🏆 Sébastien Haller se confie à Basile Boli, et fond en larmes !#AFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/54LpbZbgXV

— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) February 11, 2024

In the semi-finals, Haller finally started and scored the winning goal, with a volley, in the semi-final against DR Congo (1-0) but above all the title goal from a subtle deflection of the ball at the near post for the second in the final against Nigeria (2-1).

At the end of the meeting, at the microphone of Basile Boli, consultant for BeIN Sports, Sébastien Haller, with tears in his eyes, admitted: &quot ;It feels good to be rewarded a little…" after the trials he went through. One of the great stories that football can give us.