Long-suffering Sebastien Haller's AFCON triumph reminiscent of a fairytale
With his winning goal in the 81st minute against Nigeria, Haller gave the "Elephants" their third AFCON triumph - this time on home soil.
"We believed in it until the end," Haller said. "My teammates spurred me on to stay on the pitch as long as possible and thanks to them I scored a goal."
Haller had already scored the winning goal in the semi-final against the Democratic Republic of Congo to secure a place in the final, and this was after missing the entirety of the group stage with injury.
"It was one of my main goals to give everything I could at the Africa Cup," he said.
Ivory Coast's triumph seemed unthinkable just a few weeks ago. After two defeats in the group stage, coach Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked and the Ivorians only progressed due to being one of the third-place teams.
"It's more than a fairy tale," said Gasset's successor Emerse Fae: "I'm struggling to comprehend it all."
Haller's story
For the Borussia Dortmund striker himself, the drama at AFCON also resembles his last two and a half years. Shortly after his move from the Netherlands to Germany in 2022, the tall centre forward was diagnosed with cancer and football took a back seat.
The Ivorian spent the following months undergoing chemotherapy instead of training with the team, and his return to the pitch seemed more than doubtful.
But Haller fought his way back. In February 2023, he officially announced that he had beaten cancer and gradually worked his way back into the team. It seemed as if Haller's fortunes were finally on the up, but on the final matchday of the Bundesliga season, he and Dortmund suffered a major setback.
Dortmund needed just one more home win against Mainz 05 to win the title, and everything was already in place for the big celebration. Haller could have become the hero of Signal Iduna Park when the former Frankfurt player stepped up to take a penalty after 20 minutes, but he missed.
In the end, they missed out on the win, as Bayern went on to win the title. Haller lay on the ground for minutes after the final whistle.
Since then, his status with the Black and Yellows has not improved, with Niclas Fullkrug and Youssoufa Moukoko ahead of him in the pecking order. But the AFCON could change the momentum in Sebastien Haller's career.