The 29-year-old was the host country's match-winner in the semi-final against the Democratic Republic of Congo in his first start of the tournament after injury. That came after a year marked by a return from cancer and then an agonising climax to the German Bundesliga title race with Borussia Dortmund. Like Didier Drogba once upon a time, Haller is the poster boy of the Elephants team at this, their home Cup of Nations.
He appears on billboards across Abidjan, advertising anything from mineral water to deodorant and a major mobile phone operator. "It's bizarre. I wasn't expecting that," he admitted ahead of the tournament when asked about seeing his face everywhere. "I need to use this notoriety to serve as an example to others."
Yet it looked like he might not play any part in the competition as an ankle injury picked up playing for Dortmund in December prevented him from featuring in the group stage. The Ivorians were on the brink of a humiliating group-stage exit after a stunning 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea in their third game, but squeezed through as the last of the four best third-placed teams.
Haller was therefore able to play a part from the bench under interim coach Emerse Fae - appointed mid-tournament to replace the sacked Jean-Louis Gasset - as Ivory Coast faced Senegal in the last 16. He scored in the penalty shoot-out as the hosts knocked out the holders, and he again played an important part as a substitute in the dramatic quarter-final win over Mali.
Finally considered fit to start in the semi-final, it was his volley that saw off DR Congo at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium. "It is true that we had a few slip-ups at the start of the competition but maybe we are a different team now," he told broadcaster Canal
Read on besoccer.com