Haller exclusive: 'I still had to come home and do my job as a dad' | OneFootball

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Alex Mott·27 April 2020

Haller exclusive: 'I still had to come home and do my job as a dad'

Article image:Haller exclusive: 'I still had to come home and do my job as a dad'

He lit up the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt and had clubs from all over Europe knocking at his door.

It was West Ham who eventually won the race for his signature, forking out a record €50m, with fans hopeful of having finally found a striker they could build success around.


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Things haven’t quite worked out that way yet though for Sébastien Haller.

Article image:Haller exclusive: 'I still had to come home and do my job as a dad'

Many had wondered whether or not he was cut out for the Premier League after he netted just five times before Christmas and was dropped by David Moyes.

But it’s very easy to forget that footballers are people too and difficulties off the pitch can have a huge effect on it.

Haller’s son Eden was born just a couple of months after he moved to England and suffered from post-natal issues.

Article image:Haller exclusive: 'I still had to come home and do my job as a dad'

“The pregnancy was tough. It’s still tough because when he was born he had some fluid on his lungs so he couldn’t breathe well,” Haller exclusively told Onefootball.

“So we had to wait, they gave him antibiotics, so that caused a big problem to his stomach which meant he had a lot of reflux during the first few months.

“It also meant he couldn’t sleep very well and he was crying all the time at home because it was painful for him.

“He’s healthy now. It was just the first few weeks after he was born that made his stomach weak, which was tough for everyone – tough for my wife, tough for us in those first few days, weeks.

Article image:Haller exclusive: 'I still had to come home and do my job as a dad'

“She wanted to do a lot of things, we also have my daughter who still needs looking after, and then I had training – I have to look after myself – I was tired. I still had to come home and do my job as a dad, so yeah I have to say that time was not that easy.

“But because of it, I could be closer with my wife and with my family. But that’s life.”


That tight familial bond is crucial for any player but even more so when you are uprooting from another country.

With offers from all over the continent though, it was imperative that Haller made the right choice.

“You know during the summer, it’s a crazy time. You receive a lot of calls from a lot of weird people, but you also have real opportunities.

“So when I knew that West Ham was interested in me, I tried to analyse everything. I took all the things that come with the West Ham opportunity and thought about it.

“I always thought it was a great choice to come here, I felt, in myself, a real interest [in coming to England]. I knew the club wanted to use me [in the right way] and just gave me a lot of confidence.

“Everything came around,” he added. “The club, the Premier League, the city. You know, like I said, also when I signed for Frankfurt before, it’s like a package.

“You can’t just say ‘I’m here for myself’. You can’t just say ‘just for the club, just for the city, or just for the money, or just for I don’t know’. It’s a package, it’s everything – I had to discuss with my family, how they will feel if I go here, if I join this club.

“It’s everything. The package seduced me so that’s why I signed here.”

Expectations were always going to be high when a Premier League side with huge ambitions throw that kind of money around but Haller has insisted that the cash attached to his move was never at the forefront of his mind and the pressure associated is purely white noise.

I have to say, it’s not really pressure but people expect you to do impossible things when you are a record signing, so of course you need to show things.

“But I just give my best. And after that, when I know I have given my best to play well, I have no regrets on the pitch. I’m the only one who puts pressure on themselves.

“The prices, the market, things like that. That’s not the players’ problem. We decide that ‘we want to go to this club’ and then both teams decide on a price. We can’t impact that.”


The price tag may have not entered Haller’s head but there’s no denying that coming from the Bundesliga to the Premier League offers it’s own set of unique challenges, one that must have surely played on the forward’s mind and the player himself admits that English football took some getting used to.

“Yeah I think there is more intensity [in the Premier League]. You don’t really feel that when the ball is out, you can rest.

Article image:Haller exclusive: 'I still had to come home and do my job as a dad'

“You know all the time you need to sprint , you need to do this, this and this. I don’t want to say it’s better or worse than other competitions, it’s just more intense.

“It feels like players are stronger, I think also faster. But if football was only about speed and power, it would be [a] different [game]. It’s just different football.”


The move from Frankfurt last summer came at interesting time for the storied German club.

After an impressive run to the Europa League semi-finals all three of the team’s strikers decided it was time for pastures new.

Haller opted for England, while Ante Rebić and Luka Jović joined Milan and Real Madrid.

It was an exodus that the forwards didn’t take lightly.

“I think all of us came to a moment, in our lives and in our careers, that it was just maybe a good moment to leave. Unfortunately it came at the same time for the club.

“I think Jović had an offer he couldn’t refuse. This is Real Madrid, it’s his dream club. I know that it took a lot of time to sign the deal because they were speaking for months and months, it wasn’t something that was easy to do.

“And I think Ante needed a new challenge too after the season that he had had, with the club and in the Europa League. I think he just needed a change and Milan was a good option for him, even if the first few months were not easy for him.”

That team was presided over by Niko Kovač, who would go on to coach – and a year later be sacked by – Bayern Munich.

But Haller has backed his former manager to recover from that brief spell in Bavaria and be at the top of his game again soon.

He is a great trainer. He had great ideas. This guy makes you work a lot, so yeah, as a manager, when you make your players work hard you should see results.

“But still, even if you are at Bayern Munich you have to deal with the attitude of the players, you have to deal with the quality of the players. Other teams can still beat you if you don’t work well, so I think he was good for them.”


That was then, but this is now, with David Moyes ruling over Haller’s career, and the Scot has made an instant impression since replacing Manuel Pellegrini in December.

“I think he is someone quite different from Pellegrini. I also think he’s different because he knew the club from before.

“When you have been at a club 18 months ago, it has been easier for him to adapt himself to the city, to the club, to everyone around.

“So I think that he was following the club during this time, so he knew maybe what had been going wrong with us, so he tried to give us the keys and he saw that we had to improve.

Article image:Haller exclusive: 'I still had to come home and do my job as a dad'

“He also likes to speak a lot with the players and ask how we are feeling in situations.”

With his son now healthy and things off the pitch looking slightly rosier for Haller, attention has turned to whether West Ham can stay in the Premier League once football resumes.

Two places from safety and level on points with 18th-dwelling Bournemouth, relegation is a real possibility for David Moyes’ side.

Haller however, believes that his side will be playing in the Premier League whenever the 2020/21 season can get underway.

“Yeah I’m confident because I’m confident about the work of my team-mates and my work too,” he said.

“I think it’s our task, our job, to stay confident, to stay positive, to work, to work for each other because that is the key.

“Things can go both ways but as long as we still believe in ourselves we will be OK.”