Eintracht Frankfurt's Sebastien Haller: "It's easy to play with Luka Jovic and Ante Rebic"
Eintracht Frankfurt's Sebastien Haller says "instinct" is the key to his prolific strike partnership with Luka Jovic and Ante Rebic.
The trio have accounted for 26 of Eintracht's 34 goals so far this season in the Bundesliga, fuelling the ambitions of a Frankfurt side Haller believes are good enough to play in the UEFA Champions League.
"It's easy to play with them," Haller told DAZN. "We don't have to do much talking when we're on the pitch. It's about instinct. Our objective is simply to score as many goals as possible. We all want to help our team and worry the opposition. That's all it is."
'We have the potential to play in the Champions League'
While Frankfurt teammate Luka Jovic sits joint-top of the scoring charts alongside Borussia Dortmund counterpart Paco Alcacer on 12 Bundesliga goals, Haller is not far behind. The Frenchman has scored nine goals at a rate of one every 151 minutes, while his eight assists put him level with Dortmund captain Marco Reus as the most prolific taker and maker of chances in 2018/19. That's already more than his combined debut season total.
"My first season at Frankfurt was OK, but certainly not great," said Haller, having registered nine goals and four assists in 31 Bundesliga appearances, and lifted the DFB Cup, last term. "I had offers in the summer, but I decided to stay in order to improve as a player and help the club achieve even more. We have the potential to play in the Champions League, and that's the aim. I'm the happiest I've ever been."
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'My job is to score goals'
It's easy to see why. In little over three years, Haller has gone from fringe player at boyhood club Auxerre, via a head-turning stint in Holland with Utrecht - to one of the most trigger-happy forwards in Europe. There's even been talk of a maiden call-up to the France national team for the former Les Bleus U21.
"I can only bring my performances, continue to work hard and keep scoring goals," Haller, now 24, said. "The rest is out of my hands, because I'm not the coach. I'm not under any pressure. If I get the call one day, great. If not, I'll continue to do as I was before. I'm a striker and my job is to score goals."
'Henry was my biggest role model'
Haller's goal-driven philosophy is hardly a surprise, given the names he took most inspiration from growing up. The former Auxerre youth product counts Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic - players with over 1,000 career strikes between them - among his biggest role models, but insists his love of football rather than the prospect of stardom has always been his primary motivation.
"Thierry Henry was my biggest role model as a kid," he revealed. "Being half Ivorian, I also liked Didier Drogba and then Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but I don't want to copy anyone. I just want to play football and write my own history. I don't play to be a star, I play because I love football. If people want to call me a 'star' because I've scored a few goals, that's fine, but it's not what I want. I just want to be successful with my team."
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