Soccer has a remarkable presence in this year’s list of nominees for various prizes at the Laureus World Sports Awards. While Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland compete for the highest prize- the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Jude Bellingham is competing for the Best Breakthrough Award. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund’s Ivorian striker Sebastien Haller competes with the likes of the reigning NBA champion Jamal Murray and others for the World Comeback of the Year award. But what story of redemption has Sebastien Haller to tell?

Besides Haller and Murray, the Laureus Awards have nominated Simone Biles, Katarina Johnso-Thompson, Siya Kolisi, and Markéta Vondroušová. Simone Biles’ stellar redemption after a two-year break is a household story for American sports buffs. Let’s delve deeper into Haller’s story.

Here’s why Sebastien Haller is nominated for the World Comeback award

Sebastien Haller made it to the list of nominees in the World Comeback of the Year category because he survived testicular cancer to ply his trade for Borussia Dortmund. Haller joined Dortmund in June 2022. However, a month later he was diagnosed with a malignant testicular tumor. The Ivorian then underwent two surgeries and four cycles of chemotherapy to recover from the fatal malady. The 29-year-old resumed lacing up for Borussia Dortmund in January 2023 in a pre-season friendly. In the second friendly after his return, Haller loudly announced himself with a stellar hat-trick.

Thereafter, Sebastien Haller remained instrumental in Borussia Dortmund’s stellar run in the 2022-23 season. He scored his first competitive goal for Dortmund in February in a 5-1 win against Freiburg. Haller got so close to winning a Bundesliga title with Dortmund. But a goal difference advantage had let bitter rivals Bayern Munich seize the silverware. While Haller’s battle against cancer remains the best comeback story in his life, he has been writing similar redemptive sagas in his gameplay and career as well.

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Haller rose from the ruins before he battled cancer

Before he broke through, Sebastien Haller donned the colors of less-powerful clubs such as Auxerre, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Utrecht. It was only later that he made it to a popular English club such as West Ham United. He started strongly in West Ham, with acrobatic and long-range goals as his hallmark. However, soon the Ivorian would see his form plummet because of personal struggles outside the field. West Ham sold Haller to the Dutch league giant Ajax in 2021. The now-Dortmund striker’s Ajax stint was nothing short of a fairytale.

In the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League, Haller became the only soccer player since Marco van Basten to score four goals in a Champions League debut. In the same competition, the Ivorian scored at least once in each of Ajax’s group games. With that feat, he equaled Cristiano Ronaldo‘s previous record of scoring in every CL group game. However, Benfica knocked Ajax out of the CL in Ro16, ending Haller’s dreams to go further. Nevertheless, the Ivorian has clinched a semi-final spot in this year’s UCL with Dortmund. Courtesy of these many comebacks and a successful fight against cancer, Haller is surely a fitting candidate to win big at the Laureus Awards tonight.