Sébastien Haller contributed in a cabin speech for extra motivation before his debut after recovering from testicular cancer Borussia Dortmund taken care of. “I spoke to the team, the coach gave me the opportunity to do that. Because there are bigger things than football,” said Haller after BVB’s turbulent 4: 3 (2: 2) against FC Augsburg.
Haller, whose substitution in the 62nd minute was the emotional highlight of the game, also expressed his feelings after the long period of suffering. “It was great emotion to be back on the field in a competitive game after so many months,” said the French attacker.
“Only the goal was missing”
“It shows me that it’s all behind me,” explained Haller, who had not yet played a competitive game for Dortmund due to the illness after his move last summer: “It’s just a great feeling with the atmosphere and the win – only the goal was missing, but hopefully that will come soon.”
The 28-year-old former Frankfurter also put his finger in the wound – Dortmund, as so often, showed blatant defensive weaknesses on Sunday afternoon: “We need more control over the game and must not get ourselves into such situations. We have to stop that in the next game.”
Due to the English week in the Bundesliga, BVB can do better on Wednesday at FSV Mainz 05 (6.30 p.m., in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and Sky). When asked about a possible starting eleven, Haller remained reluctant – he wanted to collect more minutes to help the team, he said.
Coach Edin Terzic also didn’t let his first team look at his cards, but he was also delighted with Haller’s return. “That’s the power that football has, that we can share these moments with him after his hard time of suffering,” said the 40-year-old: “We’re very happy that he’s finally with us.”
