AFCON hero Sebastien Haller might have been Farhad Moshiri's first big Everton transfer
Former Everton pair Alex Iwobi and Ademola Lookman suffered heartbreak in the Africa Cup of Nations final with Nigeria - but Ivory Coast’s match-winner Sebastien Haller might have been the Blues’ first big signing of the Farhad Moshiri era.
Ivory Coast’s triumph is an amazing comeback story on several levels. Firstly, in front of a tumultuous 60,000 crowd in Abidjan’s Alassante Ouattara Stadium, the Elephants came from behind to cancel out William Troost-Ekong’s 38th-minute headed opener for the Super Eagles to equalise on 62 minutes from Franck Kessie before Haller netted the winner nine minutes from the end.
The victory marked a triumphant end to a roller-coaster of a tournament for the hosts, who sacked coach Jean-Louis Gasset after they suffered a 4-0 thrashing to Equatorial Guinea in what was their second defeat of the group stages. Despite the turmoil, they sneaked through to the last 16 as the lowest ranked of the four third-placed teams to qualify and under rookie interim coach Emerse Fae, whose only previous posts were with Nice’s youth side and the reserves at Clermont, made it through to the final by knocking out holders Senegal on penalties before defeating Mali 2-1 after extra-time and then DR Congo 1-0.
Haller’s journey has also been a dramatic one with his moment of glory coming just 13 months after his return from testicular cancer, in a tale that echoes that of lifelong Evertonian Alan Stubbs who earned his dream move to Goodison Park in 2001 after battling back from the disease. Back in the summer of 2016, Haller was also being courted by the Blues.
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