Saidy Janko’s odyssey: Ronaldo was his boss in Spain

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No, Saidy Janko’s dozen isn’t full yet. YB will not be the 12th club in the city of Zurich’s ten-year professional career. Although he is a (prominent) Bernese newcomer. He was already with YB. 2019/20 it was. A bet that ended in the second double in the club’s history. But not with a totally happy ending from Janko’s point of view.

“I really wanted to stay with YB. But Porto wanted too much. And so I had to go back to Portugal.” Janko, the man with Gambian and Italian roots and a Swiss passport, was loaned to the Bernese for a season and ironically played against his own club in the Europa League, with whom he did not really relate. felt comfortable.

Relegation and promotion with Ronaldo’s Valladolid

However, the pilots have no needs of their own for Janko. They sell him to Valladolid for about two million. He makes 19 appearances in La Liga, of which Real win only three. “Personally I was fine. But we were in deep trouble. And although the club owner Ronaldo had recently taken over eighty percent of the shares, there was no effect.” The team really surrendered to its fate, Janko recalls. “So we got out. And then playing in the second division was not what I imagined.” Despite being promoted again, we continue in the Bundesliga with Bochum. The right back makes 20 appearances. Janko plays through to the final three, in which Lucerne’s club director Ilja Kaenzig scores seven points and remains in the league and is a cornerstone of the rescue.

YB paid less than half a million

And now YB is back on the scene. And this time it works. Finally. With one year left on the contract, the Berners agree on a definitive takeover with Valladolid. With a transfer fee of just under half a million francs.

“Now I’m just glad it happened.” It’s cool to come home. “All conditions are good. And my family is here. My brother, mom, dad in Zurich, grandmother in Zug. Wonderful!” And then YB is also a real people’s club. “You feel it

not as merchandise. It was different at other clubs.” Which one? Janko says nothing about it. He played for FC Zurich (up to and including U21, but never in the fan team), Manchester United, Bolton, Celtic Glasgow, Barnsley, Saint-Etienne, Porto, Nottingham Forest, Valladolid, Bochum.

Seven countries in ten years

It’s quite a hassle-free life for a 27-year-old. Janko laughs. “Obviously. But I see that positively. Who has worked in seven countries at the age of 27? That is only in football. And those experiences last a lifetime.” Oh yes: he has gone through (almost) all major competitions. Only Italy is missing. Janko has to laugh again. And refers to his age. There’s still time.

And now the second time YB. When he joins the team last week, the boys think he’s coming to visit. “They asked me what I was doing here. Well, what, I replied: playing football!”

Now Janko also wants to play in the premier class

It goes without saying that he wants to defend both titles with yellow and black. The very specific purpose is different. One that, paradoxically, he had already achieved. “That was in 2016 with Celtic. We have qualified for the Champions League. And then I went to Barnsley.” One thing is for sure: YB can’t possibly leave this summer. So all that’s left is to get the premier class ticket. With Janko.

Source : Blick