Ajax 3-1 FC Emmen: Ajax said goodbye to Sébastien Haller on Sunday evening. Prior to the home game against FC Emmen. The French-Ivorian striker received a standing ovation from the fans at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
Nice words and standing ovation: Ajax waves Haller off
Haller was sold to Borussia Dortmund for 31 million euros last summer and had not yet found a moment to say goodbye to the Amsterdam supporters. This cannot be seen separately from the annoying diagnosis the former attacker of FC Utrecht received shortly after his transfer to Germany. Haller was unable to play football for months because he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. After a long and heavy rehabilitation process, the 28-year-old striker is now back on the field. A day after scoring his fourth goal for Dortmund, he briefly returned to Amsterdam.
Haller received a memento of his time at Ajax from general manager Edwin van der Sar before he addressed the supporters. “Hello all. Thank you for this moment. It was a pleasure to play here for eighteen months. We have great memories of that period, I think everyone still remembers what happened,” said the striker who won the championship twice with Ajax and was the top scorer of the Eredivisie last season. “So I want to thank you for those moments. I wish you all the best for the rest of the season, we still believe in it. All the best, guys. Thanks again.”
Thunderous applause in the Johan Cruijff Arena
After that it turned out that Haller is still popular in Amsterdam. After his speech there was thunderous applause in the Johan Cruijff Arena, then his name was chanted. Of course, this cannot be seen separately from the many goals that the Ivorian international scored for Ajax. Especially in the group stage of the Champions League, Haller made an impression by scoring ten times, four of which came in the away game against Sporting Portugal (1-5). In total, the million-dollar purchase ultimately scored 47 times in 66 official duels with Ajax, which is still struggling with its legacy. This season, Dusan Tadic will therefore play as a striker again.
