“Cancer scares everyone.” He suffered the disease, underwent surgery twice and returned to give a title to his adopted country

Sebastien Haller It is a case – one more – of resilience among elite athletes. The forward of Borussia Dortmund (Germany) recovered from testicular cancer and scored the goal that gave the last African Cup to Ivory Coast, the team he adopted thanks to his maternal genes after competing in the youth team with the France shirt. After two successful operations to remove the tumor, and several chemotherapy sessions that left him almost without energy to move, the 29-year-old forward gave an interview to The Athletic in which he talked about everything: “ECancer is a strong word and it scares everyone.. Nobody wants to have it, but once it is diagnosed you have more knowledge about it,” said the footballer.

Haller recalled what happened to him just a few weeks after his transfer from Ajaxfrom the Netherlands, to Dortmundwhere he arrived to replace Erling Braut Haalandsold to Manchester City. It was August 2022 and in preseason games and training the Frenchman was experiencing persistent pain in his abdomen. “I talked about it several times with my physiotherapist. We tried different things but it never went away. I asked the team doctors if it was possible to have an echocardiogram. There they saw that there was something pressing on my abdomen.” It was a testicular tumor, and the diagnosis would come with more studies.

The summary of the African Cup final and Haller’s unforgettable goal

Haller continued with his testimony: “They did an MRI and the next day they found the tumor. They needed to know if it was malignant or benign. We did it after a workout and after 30 seconds the doctor said: ‘You have to have surgery between today and tomorrow.’” Haller entered the operating room and the lesion was removed. Then came chemotherapy: five-day sessions in the hospital. “The last two days were the strongest in terms of the side effects. Then, 48 hours of waiting and later, a two and a half hour drive home, at night. That was the worst part. And when you get home it’s 2 in the morning. It’s hard to stay standing, you just want to stay in your bed. But my physiotherapist had already prepared the training sessions for the next morning. I was going the same, even though I didn’t feel well. I would do what I could. And there it was: running with weight on me, because that was healthy for my body“, Haller narrated in the note with The Athletic.

Regarding the emotional consequences of the disease – from which he is cured thanks to a second successful surgical intervention to remove any vestige that had remained in his body – Haller stated: “Without realizing it, you transform into another person. You try to behave in the best possible way, but you are suffering. People around you try to hide their sadness and also their emotions, but it is difficult. You become less patient, more angry and more emotional. When everyone tries to hide what is happening to them and change the way they act, it becomes complicated: communication is everything”, he stated.

Haller, after his second cancer operation

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A post shared by Sébastien Haller (@sebastien.haller)

The forward allowed the cameras Canal+ get into his privacy and film the course of his illness in first person. The result is a documentary, called “Haller’s Fight.”. “I received messages from people telling me that because of my experience they were checked and They discovered that they had something“, recalled the Ivorian gunner born in Ris-Orangis, France. “I’m incredibly proud to know that I helped at least one person,” he congratulated himself. And he added: “This is why I made the documentary: I wanted to show my normal life, even when I was sick. “We can all get sick, but we need to catch ourselves when we fall, get help from our families and friends, and enjoy every moment we can.”

After the operations and, now recovered, Haller experienced another traumatic situation. This time, sporty. In the 2-2 against Mainz of the last date of the Bundesliga passed, the striker missed a penalty. That result condemned those from Dortmund to second place, because an agonizing goal from Jamal Musiala gave the title to Bayern Munich by goal difference: “It was the worst disappointment I had in football. It was even harder to accept than my illness, because I could have changed the story. I was not only a victim, but an actor. It was so painful!,” he recalled. And he thanked his loved ones: “In moments like that you realize how lucky and blessed you are to have family and friends close to you. If I had been alone, I probably would have stayed motionless on the court for a week,” she confessed.

Sebastien Haller’s anger after missing a penalty that would have meant the title for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga 22-23afp – AFP

Haller then told why he changed his nationality and stopped representing France to put on the shirt Ivory Coasthis mother’s country: “I had represented France in all the youth categories,” the striker said in the interview with The Athletic. And he added: “When I became a professional some people told me that I could play for the Ivory Coast, but many things were unstable, and when you start your career it is difficult to make such an important decision,” he recalled. And he continued with the story: “When I was in West Ham, had not played for France for some years. I spoke with the then coach of Ivory Coast (Patrice Beaumelle), who wanted me on his team. As a father, I wanted to be closer to my Ivorian origins, so I said to myself: ‘Maybe this is the time. Things are changing. I can be useful to this team. And, why not, win something. It could be a wonderful story’”.

The dream of playing in the 2024 Africa Cup turned into a nightmare: Haller arrived at the tournament injured and they imposed a strict training regimen on him to speed up his recovery. The plan was that was available for the knockout phase, organized by the Ivory Coast itself. The local team almost missed out on the group stage, after a catastrophic defeat with Equatorial Guinea. A triumph of Morocco put it in the next phase, almost out of the window. Haller remembered those days at the beginning of the year: “I spent the entire tournament between breakfasts, treatments, gym, treatments, gym. I finished each day at 1 in the morning because of all this work. It was a nightmare, because you think that nothing happens the way you want. You arrive, you are injured, you can’t play and you are going to be eliminated. It was a huge waste of energy and time for many people. And even money for some. A dream that was disappearing”.

“Damn cancer”, the message on Sébastian Haller’s boots on the day of his return with the Borussia Dortmund shirtInstagram: @sebastien.haller

However, Ivory Coast He entered the decisive stage of the tournament through the window. The public supported and they reached the final. There, in the decisive match, Haller finished signing his story of improvement with an unforgettable goal, which marked 2-1 in the final against Nigeria; a cry that meant a title. “It’s destiny. We can try to explain it, but the truth is that we don’t control anything.”concluded in the interview with The Athletic.

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Sebastien HallerBorussia DortmundAfrica Cup

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