Forget Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, the real star in the opening round of the Champions League this season was Sebastian Holler, who beat Sporting Portugal 5-1.

It was a fantastic start to the Champions League for the 27 – year – old C dte d’Ivoire striker.

“I remember one of the best players in the history of the game, Marco van Boston, doing it,” said Ajax coach Eric Den Hawk.

“It proves how historically significant Sebastian’s work is, but it is also a reflection of his qualities.

“It’s not just about his body, it’s his centering and finishing. You have to be mentally strong to do that.”

Haller’s first two goals in Lisbon came from within six yards in the first nine minutes. Two more were added in the second half of the very long break.

This hunting ability brought Ajax from West Ham United to the Netherlands in January at a cost of 22.5 million euros ($ 27.5 million), but Holler had an unfavorable start to his career in Amsterdam.

Ajax have somehow forgotten the new guys who scored in the knockout stages of the Europa League last season. If he had, they would have beaten Roma in the quarterfinals. Instead, they walked out.

Holler scored 11 goals in the Dutch league in the second half of last season, capturing the Ajax title.

He started the season with average goals for a team that could not stop beating Ajax — his first six ERTV matches were 3 wins 5-0 and a 9-0.

A breakthrough in the fortunes of a player who set a club record of spending $ 45 million from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019 for West Ham, but who scored just 10 goals in 48 Premier League games.

Did France lose?
He previously played in Frankfurt with Andre Rிக்bic and Luka Jovic, who went to Milan and Real Madrid respectively.

Prior to that, Holler had made a name for himself at Eredivisie in Utrecht, scoring more than 50 goals in three years, so Ajax knew exactly what they were going to get.

Meanwhile, even with such a deep offensive force, France may regret losing it.

Holler was born and raised in the suburbs of Paris and played for the French national team until the age of 21.

However, after reaching the age of 26 without receiving an invitation from Didier Deschamps, he chose to represent Cote d’Ivoire instead when he approached his mother’s country of birth last year.

“The time has come for you to make a decision, look at the competition in your position and be honest with yourself,” he told Cho Food magazine about his decision last year.

When I scored my first goal in my first game against Madagascar, it was really one. I was very happy. “

Hammer recently scored two goals in a World Cup qualifier against Cameroon and hopes to represent Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations in the new year.

First, he hopes to maintain his impressive scoring record in the Champions League when he receives Ajax Besiktas on Tuesday.