It seems far away, this evening of May 13, 2023 during which FC Sion sank steeply at the Stade de Genève (5-0) for David Bettoni’s last at the helm. The two teams, who have not met since, face each other this Saturday (8:30 p.m.) in Geneva.
A year and a half after this one-sided clash, the two teams have evolved quite a bit. Servette played in the Conference League and established himself as one of the leaders of the Super League. As for the Valaisans, they repeatedly repeat that their one-year break in the Challenge League did them good. The team was restructured and mayonnaise took hold around the project embodied by coach Didier Tholot. “When a player fights for the team, the team will give back to him,” he proclaimed at a press conference on Friday. Desire, character and combativeness should be at the heart of the Sédun game on Saturday, as they have been for a little over a year. “We have to bleed for these people who support us behind the goals and who will still be numerous tomorrow.”
The residents of Tourbillon make no secret of it: they will wear the costume of the “little one” in this first Rhône derby of the season. “We must show that the image of the club has changed since this 2023 match,” said Didier Tholot. We’re not going to let ourselves be walked on.”
Current captain of FC Sion, Reto Ziegler still remembers the terrible feeling that animated him at the end of this 5-0 defeat. “But these are things we must forget. We have no revenge to take. For the most part, they are no longer the same players. And we have a different mentality.”
Didier Tholot approaches this Saturday’s clash in the same way as the first day of the championship, during which Sion surprised Young Boys at Wankdorf (2-1). “Football is made to play with atmosphere and pressure. We like these kinds of matches.”
The people of Valais therefore expect a big challenge. “When we face a team like Servette, which has played in Europe, we feel this experience. They make a lot fewer mistakes, so we will have fewer possibilities,” warned Reto Ziegler. “Currently, Servette is one of the best teams in Switzerland, if not the best. But we’re not far behind them.” The message got through.
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