Sébastien Haller, the French rooster among the Ivorian elephants
Audio 19:30
Sébastien Haller.
© Martin Guez / RFI
By: Martin Guez Follow |
Youenn Gourlay
5 mins
He is the top scorer in the Champions League, and the Dutch league.
He could have been the center-forward of the France team, which he rubbed shoulders with from 16 to 21, in all the youth teams.
But in 2020, Sébastien Haller finally chooses to play for Côte d'Ivoire, the country of his mother.
At 26, he therefore swaps the blue tunic of the French Roosters for the orange one of the Ivorian Elephants, and is preparing to play for the first time in a major selection competition, during the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
A report by Martin Guez and Youenn Gourlay.
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While the alloco begins to simmer in the bottom of a pan, Simone Kuyo is busy in her beautiful house in Lésigny, a chic suburb in eastern Paris. It must be said that she is a very busy grandmother: while humming Meiway, the famous Ivorian singer of the 80s, she rummages through an old stock of swimsuits with one hand, carrying little Pharrell, 2 months old, from the 'other. “
I have the Auxerre jersey, Haller number 31. This is the jersey of the French under-17 team, number 11. Then Frankfurt number 9, and finally that of the Côte d ' Ivory
, ”she explains. Or an express CV of the career of Sébastien, her footballer by son, whom she followed throughout Europe. “
I have known the Netherlands, Utrecht, Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, it makes us travel a lot, that's good!
»Laughs this grandmother, used to babysitting.
The native of Gagnoa in the west of Côte d'Ivoire has toured Europe, to follow her son.
And yet, he was not predestined to become a footballer: “
Sébastien had not left to play football, he had to do judo, because I didn't want him to play football (laughs).
I didn't want to run stadiums, so we put him in judo, and when I was at work, he sneaked out to play soccer.
Without telling me.
And one day, it was the coach who told him to tell his parents.
I was ashamed… But everyone told me he was good, so I accompanied him, I never let go until he took off.
"
French hopeful teams at the Elephants
It is an understatement to say that the striker flew away: after passing through Vigneux and Brétigny in Essonne (south of Paris), the lanky center-forward started his professional career at Auxerre. He was quickly outclassed in his younger years and played for all the teams in France, from the under 16s to the hopeful selection. Without ever crossing the course of the senior team, which was not necessarily understood when the striker piled up goals, in Frankfurt or West Ham. In particular by his mother: "
People said that it was not normal that he does not play with the France A team. Personally I told him" it is not normal ", but hey that's it. a talking mom. Him, he told me "mom, it's not a problem!" He didn't want to put pressure on people.
"
More than his words, it is his prowess that speaks for him, because this season, Sébastien Haller explodes with Ajax Amsterdam: 10 goals in the Champions League during the group stage (top scorer so far)!
A rare performance which already allows him to overtake a certain Didier Drogba on the scorers' list over a European season.
Champions League top scorer
Add to that 12 goals in the Dutch league (of which he also dominates the standings) and you have a player who could have claimed to play the next World Cup in Qatar with the French team, defending champion. Except that in October 2020, the attacker chose Côte d'Ivoire. A choice that he absolutely does not regret, especially since for his first match against Madagascar [October 12, 2020, in qualifying for the CAN, Editor's note], he scored the winning goal: “
It
was something extraordinary to be able to score his first goal in the national team!
», He says, stars in his eyes. "
The joy of the teammates, the stadium, the family… It's something fantastic.
Frankly, it was a wonderful memory… There were a lot of emotions, my whole family sent me messages, called me… We can feel it around us, it's a country that vibrates at each goal , this is something incredible!
".
Linked to Côte d'Ivoire since childhood
Express integration, facilitated by the player's Ivorian roots. If Sébastien Haller is French through his father, originally from Alsace, he is Ivorian through his mother, who passed on "
all the little things
" to him as she likes to say: "
From a very young age, he appreciated the Ivorian culture: cooking. , music, songs. Especially Meiway, always him! And when he was a few months old I took him to Ivory Coast, before returning with him to the village in 2002 (note: he was 8 years old at the time). We had taken the big tour: Yamoussoukro, Bouaké, Abidjan… He always wanted to go to Ivory Coast! Especially since we still have family there, like my twin brother. A former footballer by the way!
"
A family affair, also shared with Narcisse Téa Kuyo, president of Africa Sport of Abidjan, and uncle of the player.
The entire attacking clan, from Abidjan to the Parisian suburbs, is waiting for only one thing: that Sébastien Haller wears the Elephants, of which he will be the spearhead at the CAN.
It all starts this Wednesday, against Equatorial Guinea.
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