Football: Théo Berdayes, personification of the revival of FC Sion

A pure product of FC Sion, Théo Berdayes (22 years old) had nevertheless been unfaithful to the Tourbillon club by being the subject of a loan to Yverdon in the summer of 2022, with which he was also to celebrate promotion to Super League. Now he will return to the municipal stadium this Saturday, but in the visitors’ camp this time. So obviously, because it will also be the first time, it will be a little weird, right?

Even if a lot of things have changed since then in Yverdon, the person concerned does not deny: “I know the place well, I had a great season there (editor’s note: 35 matches, 6 goals and 3 assists). I had the opportunity to speak with Mauro Rodrigues but he will be suspended.

The importance of this final meeting of the year does not escape the Valais striker. “Even if the results don’t necessarily prove it, Yverdon remains a difficult team to handle at home. This match should not be taken lightly. I don’t know if we can talk about a trap meeting since Didier Tholot warned us all week. We know there is a good chance to play. But we must not underestimate them.”

In the event of success in this last French-speaking derby of 2024, the newly promoted would grant himself a comfortable cushion of 9 points over his host at the start of the evening.

Berdayes is perhaps the one best personifying the new dynamic of FC Sion, author in particular of an XXL performance against Young Boys (where he led 3-0 after less than half an hour). To what, to whom can we attribute this spectacular improvement? “After our home defeat against Zurich, we told each other our truths.”

We have to believe that this team meeting was profitable. At the same time, a new game system was also applied, allowing, among other things, Théo Berdayes to return to the central role he likes, at the heart of the game.

“I had no right to make a mistake when the coach put me back in the center,” he exclaims. By changing the system, the coach’s objective was to make us more unpredictable while taking more control of the game by pressing our opponent high. Playing on one side has never bothered me but finding myself in a more central role allows me to express my qualities more.

When asked which ones, the Swiss M21 international, who will never be a certified dribbler, does not shy away. “My first quality,” he confides, “is intelligence of the game. I can propose other solutions, which can bring something more to the team.”

During the first 17 matches of the championship, No. 29 from Tourbillon scored 2 goals and offered 4 assists. His coach would nevertheless like to see him become even more decisive. Theo smiled. “Maybe I should score more and improve my stats, that’s true. But I’m not obsessed with the goal. I already have better stats than last season!”

For his last duty of the calendar year, Sion does not intend to fail. A third success in a row would allow him to ideally approach the end of year holidays. After a few days of break, the Valais residents will return to the joys of the field on December 30. A training camp is planned in Morocco starting January 3, 2025.