Dortmund: Haller, the big man is back

Sébastien Haller is back. The Ivory Coast international (15 caps, 4 goals) officially began his Dortmund adventure in 2023, after beating cancer. And on Saturday 4 February, the former Ajax man scored his first goal of the season in the Bundesliga against Freiburg (5-1 win). A fierce header for the third goal of the Black and Yellows. And, in a defiant gesture at fate, Haller scored on 4 February... World Cancer Day. Symbolic.

“It means a lot to me, I'd been waiting for this moment since day 1,” Sébastien Haller said happily to Sky. “I'm just happy and I hope I've made a lot of people happy. The road is still long, we'll keep working”. The Ivorian's return to action is all the more welcome as Dortmund are fighting for the title. BVB are third on 37 points (level with Bayern, who play on Sunday 5 February), two behind the leaders, Union Berlin.

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Hope of a comeback

But Sébastien Haller went through a lot to get here, and then some. The excitement of his signing for Dortmund quickly gave way to dismay. In the middle of pre-season, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. To win his fight against the illness, the 28-year-old had to endure four cycles of chemotherapy as well as two operations. Only after that was Sébastien Haller able to play his first official match, on 22 January against Augsburg.

Fresh from a superb last season with Ajax Amsterdam, in which he scored 32 goals in 39 games, Sébastien Haller had made his mark. So much so that he finished 13th in the 2022 Ballon d'Or voting. Now it is Borussia's supporters who will benefit from his goalscoring qualities, and from his fighting spirit too.