The Bernese themselves demanded two: the Sion defense beam “made by YB”

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One is really Bernese, the other is Upper Valais. Both know the YB empire from the inside as old yellow and black young players. And now they want to knock their youth club out of the cup in the quarter-finals. It is about Jan Kronig (23) and Joël Schmied (25), the two Sion defenders.

Kronig became champion with YB under coach Gerardo Seoane. In the spring of 2019, when the title was already up for grabs, he made two starts as a youngster in his debut season with the pros.

As a child, the Upper Valais resident regularly commuted from his home in Brig to the YB training course. As a 10-year-old he stopped playing football in Valais. After a test match with Brig against GC, he was allowed to participate in trial training with the Zurich team as a small boy and played there for one or two months. And then switched to the YB juniors. From there the train route to Brig is only half as long. The journey still takes a good hour each way. Later as a teenager he moved to Bern to go to the gym.

This winter, Sion brought him home from Aarau. “Kronig is finally a Sittener,” was the motto at the introduction. “It is a great honor for me as a resident of Valais, also how they communicated about it,” Kronig tells Blick. He is enthusiastic about the match against YB: “Sion is an absolute cup club.”

The things that speak for Zion

Schmied also went through the entire YB progeny. He is two years older than Kronig. The two defensive players played together for another year on YB’s U21 team when Schmied was captain of the team. Until they broke up – and reunited this winter in Valais.

How does the Bernese assess his chances as leader of the Challenge League against the club from his hometown? ‘We are outsiders. But with the full stadium and the atmosphere, with the confidence we have… maybe.” Taking all these points into account, are the odds even 50:50? “Absolutely. It’s just a game. Yes, you can say that.”

The defender verbally goes on the attack. To where Dejan Sorgic (34) is at home on the field. The Central Swiss player played 17 times against YB and scored six goals. He has already been to two cup finals. He won with Lucerne during the Corona period and lost with Thun shortly before. And right now he’s a good player. He has scored five times in the last six league games, all of which Sion won.

CC: “We are a very serious outsider”

Cup, the 34-year-old is also enthusiastic. What is he most looking forward to? “To a match where the tension is already in the air before kick-off.” As is known, the cup is important for the president and the residents of Valais.

Of course, the chairman! Christian Constantin (67) also commented on the cup specialist’s crack against the defending champion. «YB is favorite. But we are a very serious outsider…’

As an outsider you already have enough of it. For example in the 2009 final, when Sion was 0-2 behind against YB and still won 3-2 against the team led by star striker Seydou Doumbia. There was Jan Kronig as an eight-year-old boy among the 31,700 spectators in Wankdorf. Two years later he was already commuting to the YB training.

Source : Blick