This is no fairy tale, but the story of a great striker, who is back doing what he knows best: scoring heavy goals. Really, really heavy. Sebastien Haller is undoubtedly the national hero of Ivory Coast, capable of winning the Africa Cup of Nations at home, defeating Nigeria in an upset.

The Borussia Dortmund striker had a dream night. All just a few months after I went through the worst nightmare of my life. Haller had just arrived in Germany when he discovered the grim diagnosis: testicular cancer. The striker was forced to stop to fight the most important battle of his life, the one against cancer.

An uphill battle, which saw him undergo two surgeries and face four rounds of chemotherapy before he was finally able to return to the field. After returning to the field, Haller experienced another nightmare, albeit only on a sports level, last season.

In fact, his penalty miss on the final day of the Bundesliga cost Borussia Dortmund the title. A sensational mistake, given that Haller’s previous penalty miss was in 2017. This season, Haller has played just 13 games for Borussia Dortmund between the Bundesliga and the Champions League, without scoring a single goal.

Not the best way to face the Africa Cup of Nations at home, to say the least. Haller was not at his best at the Africa Cup of Nations either, missing the first three group stage matches through injury.

Therefore, his debut came only in the 1/8 finals, but the Borussia Dortmund striker was practically not seen until the semi-finals. So that’s where his decisive goal against Congo came, and the very heavy one in the final, when his classy shot allowed Ivory Coast to overcome Nigeria and win an almost unexpected trophy.

On the other hand, Haller’s career is already full of records. The Ivory Coast striker, for example, was the first player to score in his first six Champions League appearances, as well as the fastest player to reach 10 Champions League goals, in just 6 games.

Furthermore, Haller is one of two players to have scored more than 4 goals on his Champions League debut, along with Marco van Basten. Finally, as of last night, Haller is also the first player to score the winning goal in an African Cup of Nations final for Ivory Coast.

👁️[WPPV-TOTAL-VIEWS]