Cancer survivor Haller leads ‘Zombies’ to glory

The final of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) yesterday had entered the 81st minute, with the score line reading 1-1 and hosts Ivory Coast, who had come back from the brink multiple times in the competition, conjuring up an attack against opponents Nigeria.

The sea of orange inside the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium held their collective breaths as Simon Adingra burst through the left flank and made his way into the box.

He swung in the ball with his left foot, which went right between two Nigerian defenders, and was met with the outstretched right foot of an Ivorian player, who used the studs of his boot to direct the ball away from the grasp of the goalkeeper as 60,000 Ivorians went wild.

This goal won Ivory Coast their third AFCON title, capping off an incredible come-from-behind triumph for the host nation and an even greater comeback story for Haller, a man who was in a fight for his life just 18 months ago.

Haller's journey from being diagnosed with testicular cancer in July of 2022 to scoring the match-winning goal in Ivory Coast's triumph has been nothing short of a fairytale.

The forward, who plays for German club Borussia Dortmund, had to undergo two surgeries and endure multiple chemotherapy sessions to rid his body off cancerous cells.

He returned to training in last year's January and played his first competitive game since the cancer diagnosis on the 22nd of that month.

Haller netted his first goal for Dortmund against SC Freiburg on February 4, which was coincidentally the World Cancer Day.

The 29-year-old was looking in good goal-scoring form heading into the AFCON at home soil before another setback came in front of him.

In December, he injured his ankle while playing for Dortmund, which put his participation in the AFCON in doubt.

But Ivory Coast management kept their faith on their star forward and included him in the squad, even though he couldn't take part in the group phase.

Ivory Coast had nearly been knocked out of the tournament in the group-stage after a 4-0 drubbing against Equatorial Guinea in their final match.

But the hosts benefitted from the change in the tournament format this year and made it to the knock-out phase as the fourth best third-placed side in the tournament.

The defeat to Equatorial Guinea resulted in their coach Jean-Louis Gasset getting sacked as his deputy Emerse Fae took over the reins.

Haller finally played his first match in the tournament in the Round of 16 against Senegal as a substitute, which they won on penalties.

He played as a substitute in the quarterfinal against Mali as well, where they came from behind to win 2-1.

Haller got his first start in the tournament in the semifinal against Congo, where he scored the winner.

In the final, Ivory Coast conceded first and went into the break a goal down. But once again, Ivory Coast rose from a dire situation, with Franck Kessie qualising in the 62nd minute to set up the stage for Haller to land the final blow.

For much of the tournament, the Ivory Coast team was called the team of 'Zombies' as like the mythical undead beasts, this team couldn't get killed off. This never-say-die attitude perhaps stemmed from Haller, who overcame a life-threatening situation to return to the field and scripted one of the greatest comeback stories this game has ever seen.