It’s burning again at FC Sion

FC Sion reported in two sentences on Monday at 11.28 am what emerged after Saturday’s 0-4 against St. Gallen and the newspaper “La Nouvelliste” announced Monday morning. «FC Sion confirms Fabio Celestini’s leave for a week. In the meantime, Christian Constantin takes over the team and sits on the bench for FC Sion in the next two games against FC Lugano.” There is nothing more to learn. President Constantin also does not respond to requests from Blick.

Like his predecessor Paolo Tramezzani, Celestini suffered a defeat against St. Gallen. It is the sweet revenge of Peter Zeidler, who fell victim to CC’s actionism in 2017 – despite 1.93 points per game. Since then, no Sion coach has achieved anything remotely like Zeidler. National coach Murat Yakin, Stéphane Henchoz and the Italian world champion Fabio Grosso also had a hard time with the ejection seat in the competition.

Multiple fires

Pure chaos reigns in Valais. Two coach changes, the fall to 9th place – tied with promoted Winterthur. And the deployment of Mario Balotelli, celebrated as a coup d’état, also seems to have backfired. The Italian has already made one or two escapades in recent months. His performances are uninspired, physically the superstar is anything but fit.

Over the weekend, “Super Mario” felt the anger of the fans. They burn the shirt with the number 45. Balotelli’s burning shirt is even worth a headline in an Argentine newspaper. The primitive action is symbolic of the state of the club. In Valais it is ablaze. Constantin’s threat to retire in 2024 hangs like a sword of Damocles over the 13-time Cup winner.

“The Totomat fires the coaches, not me.” It is a quote from Constantine that has become bon mot. This also applies to the dazzling Sion chairman himself in the coming days. It is not the first time that he personally wants to turn things around on the sidelines. Within five days Sion welcomes Lugano to the Tourbillon in the Cup and Championship. Twice is a lot for Zion. A cup win can save the turbulent season. There is no direct relegation in the league, but in the current state the Wallisers are the most popular candidate for the fall to third in the Challenge League.

Celestini: 98 days in office

Nobody believes that Celestini will be given responsibility for the team again, especially since he only has a contract until the end of the season. The days of the Vaudois in Valais are numbered. After 98 days and just six competitive matches. Two points is the meager record of the amateur dancer, who also tried to become a coach of the women’s national team, but eventually lost to Inka Grings.

Celestini should not be surprised at his dismissal. «The coaches live from week to week and therefore depend on the results. We depend on them for better or for worse,” he said against St. Gallen on Saturday after the 0-4. He too could not stop the downward trend that started under Tramezzani. Sion has been waiting for a victory in the competition since mid-October. Now CC has to fix it. It’s up to the president to put out the fire before it turns into a big blaze.

Source : Blick