Sébastian Haller from Borussia Dortmund has given new impressions of his cancer. In an extensive interview with the English ‘Times’, the 28-year-old describes: On May 31st “I had abdominal pain during my stay with the Ivory Coast national team. It’s okay, I thought. I tried to play, I trained. Then I had flu-like symptoms for four days: I found it difficult to breathe and I couldn’t finish the training.” But the striker ignored the discomfort.
The pain continued for the next six weeks. Testicular cancer was diagnosed at the BVB training camp at the end of July. “At that moment, I immediately put football on the back burner. It’s serious. All I could think about was my health and my new way of life. My wife was on vacation with the three children. How do you teach them? But you have to, you have to.”
Between past and future
Haller was particularly concerned about one person: Mother Simone. With the death of her sister from cancer three years ago, she already had to accept a stroke of fate. In order not to leave his mother alone with the diagnosis, the native Frenchman made sure that his brother and sister would help her. “Having someone to talk to was very important. Having people around is one of the biggest building blocks of the disease. Everyone forgets them, but they also suffer”he emphasizes.
Haller is now looking ahead again. For him it is important that you let go at a certain point – said, done. In the past four competitive games, the attacker was in the starting line-up for Dortmund. Ten days ago he scored his first Bundesliga goal for black and yellow in a 5-1 win against SC Freiburg.
The next highlight is on Wednesday (9 p.m.) with Chelsea in the round of 16 of the premier class. “It means a lot to me to be back in the Champions League”emphasizes Haller, “I remember all the hard work and that if I hadn’t trained so much or realized how important it is to be fit, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I’m lucky. I’m happy, satisfied and really looking forward to the game.”
