Sebastien Haller, who survived cancer, will step into Erling Haaland’s shoes – will last season’s high goal streak continue in the Champions League?

Dortmund center forward Sebastien Haller scored a very important goal against Freiburg in the German Bundesliga on February 4.

It was Haller’s first hit in a competitive match after being diagnosed with cancer in July.

February 4th is also International Cancer Day, so there was a lot of symbolism associated with the goal. Haller, 28, aired his goalie with emotion in front of the “yellow wall” of Dortmund supporters and pointed to his shoes, which read “f*tut cancer”.

– The fact that I scored a goal just today is a great message for everyone struggling with cancer now or in the future. It gives hope to some, courage to others. That’s what it’s all about. Better days are coming, striker said to Bundesliga.com (You’re moving to another service).

A fairytale last season

Urheilu’s football expert Miika Nuutinen describes Haller as a target player who is strong when playing with his back to the opponent’s goal. For example, Dortmund wants to use him as a so-called passing wall, so that the defensive lines can be broken.

The 191-centimeter striker scores his goals from inside the penalty area, as a rule from the best goal-scoring areas. According to the news, Haller skilfully breaks away from the guard of the defenders and strongly attacks centering balls.

– In addition, he is a versatile finisher who can score goals with his head and both feet. That makes him difficult to guard in the box.

In the previous season, 2021–22, Haller scored no less than 11 goals in only eight matches in the Dutch Ajax shirt in the Champions League and was the third best scorer in the entire tournament. In his UCL debut against the Portuguese Sporting CP, Haller scored four goals.

In the goal exchange, only the Spanish Real Madrid, who advanced to the championship, got ahead Karim Benzema (15 goals) and reached the quarter-finals with the German Bayern Robert Lewandowski (13 goals).

Haller, who appeared in the Champions League for the first time, played a few less games, as Ajax’s road ended in the first elimination round against the Portuguese Benfica with 2-3 aggregate goals.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Haller scored 21 goals in 31 matches and celebrated the championship with Ajax.

The high season spawned a transfer worth 31 million euros to Bundesliga club Dortmund, who were looking for a replacement for the one who moved to Manchester City For Erling Haaland. It was the second most expensive acquisition in Dortmund’s club history.

Expert Nuutinen says that Haller does not bring the same threat as Haaland in fast attacks.

– Haller does not attack large spaces as explosively. However, few players can compete with Haaland here.

Nuutinen, however, praises the comprehensive play of the current Dortmund striker. Haller, among other things, participates in building attacks more strongly than Haaland.

– Haller has more than 50 goal assists in his career, which means he is not only a goal scorer, but is also able to provide decisive and final assists before the goal. Haller can’t be compared to Haaland in fast attacks, but he is definitely the same in the penalty area.

Back to the ring

Haller, who grew up in the suburbs of Paris, represented France in the youth national teams, but ultimately decided to choose his mother’s home country, Ivory Coast. In 2015, Haller moved from the French Ligue 2 club Auxerre to the Dutch premier league FC Utrecht. After two years, he continued to the German Eintracth Frankfurt, where he scored 33 goals in 77 matches during two seasons.

In 2019, West Ham signed a striker for the English Premier League for 50 million euros. However, goals were not scored at the same pace as before, 14 in 54 matches.

Haller’s star appeared to be on the wane when he moved to Ajax in early 2021 for less than half the price of a move to West Ham. However, the gunpowder was dry in the first spring. 11 goals in 19 matches and the Dutch championship. In the following season, there was a top bet in the Champions League.

Haller’s career development stalled in the summer of 2022, before he even had time to play a match in his new club. He felt unwell in July at Dortmund’s training camp and was sent for tests. The diagnosis was harsh: testicular cancer. The tumor was malignant and chemotherapy was ahead.

– The whole club hopes that Sebastien will recover as soon as possible. We will do everything we can to ensure that he receives the best possible treatment, Dortmund’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl said in the summer (you switch to another service).

The treatments and two surgeries worked. Haller returned to Dortmund training at the beginning of January after first training with his old club Ajax. In the middle of January, Haller scored a hat trick in a training match against FC Basel. He has played a total of 239 minutes in five Bundesliga matches.

– My playing condition is not perfect yet, but only by playing will I get in full condition. Thanks to everyone who helps me to pass because it’s not easy. My body has changed. I have to work hard but I can’t go overboard as I have to recover from another surgery. I need time. It’s difficult, but nothing compared to the last few months, Haller said.

Will the wild pace continue in the Champions League?

Since Haller’s return, Dortmund have won all five of their Bundesliga matches and are third in the league, three points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

Expert Nuutinen states that some kind of reconstruction is underway in Dortmund. According to him, the head coach Edin Terzic trying to do the same, which Jurgen Klopp did at the time, i.e. return Dortmund to the top.

– There have been a lot of positive performances in January and Haller can be the missing piece. On the other hand, you have to understand that he has a long break behind him and for serious health reasons. Expectations cannot be placed on last season’s performances.

The German club also needs its center forward in the Champions League. On Wednesday, we will see if Haller will continue where he left off at the end of last season in the series, when Dortmund face Chelsea, who are plowing in the middle of the Premier League, in the quarterfinals.

According to Miika Nuutinen, Dortmund has an excellent chance to advance from the pair to the playoffs.

– Now is a delicious time to face Chelsea. The club has had a change of head coach during the season, and With Graham Potter it’s been a really hard start. Many profile players were bought in January, and at least the results haven’t been very good yet. Chelsea are really under a lot of pressure to succeed.

Sources: Bundesliga.com, Marca, Transfermarkt.