When football comes before everything: striker Sébastien Haller thought missed title with Dortmund was “worse than testicular cancer”

© AFP

Sébastien Haller experienced a season of extremes at Borussia Dortmund. The 29-year-old striker was diagnosed with testicular cancer, fought back and was just minutes away from winning the Bundesliga title. And strangely enough, Haller thought missing out on the title was worse than his cancer diagnosis.

The Telegraph Vincent Van Genechten

“It really is. The missed title hurts me more than the diagnosis of testicular cancer at the time,” said the Ivorian in an interview with Bild. “If you’re sick, there’s nothing you can do about it. You have to accept it and move on. But we had the title in our own hands, we could influence everything ourselves. In that case you have to painfully accept that you may have made mistakes or wrong decisions.”

Haller played for Ajax between January 2021 and June 2022. He won two titles and a cup with the Dutch top club. Haller was also crowned top scorer in the Eredivisie once and was accurate eleven times in the Champions League. In the summer of 2022, he transferred to Dortmund and was told that a malignant tumor had been found in his testicles.

© REUTERS

The striker made his debut for Dortmund after his rehabilitation in January. He played strongly in the second half of the season and scored a lot, but in the decisive match against Mainz on the last matchday, in which the title was at stake, he missed a penalty. The 2-2 was not enough and Bayern Munich won the championship.

“Missed opportunities eat at you. You think about what you could have done better. But I have also learned, especially during my illness, not to let negative things get to me,” Haller added.

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