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The FC Thun heroes do not hide their amusement and amazement erstwhile speaking astir what has been an unthinkable season. They giggle erstwhile asked if they could perchance person expected specified a scenario. They cognize that nan business is surreal and illogical. The words “incredible” and “unbelievable” are utilized frequently.
When Thun were promoted to nan Swiss Super League successful May, they were predicted to struggle. “A batch of pundits identified them arsenic No 1 relegation candidates. Expectations were very low, and fans thought that avoiding relegation would beryllium a awesome success,” Berner Zeitung journalist Adrian Horn says.
Instead, Thun are apical of nan table. Not only that – they opened a 15-point spread complete second-placed St Gallen aft 31 matches that produced 23 wins and 72 goals scored. Even if they suffer each of nan remaining 7 fixtures, they would still astir apt beryllium crowned champions. A first title successful nan humble club’s 128 years of beingness is each but secured by March.
You mightiness callback that Thun played successful nan Champions League successful 2005, but they qualified for nan tourney arsenic runners-up. It was a sensational campaign, arsenic they hit Dynamo Kyiv and Malmö successful nan qualifiers. The group shape debut was astatine Arsenal, and their striker Mauro Lustrinelli remembers it perfectly.
“We had a magnificent crippled and were very adjacent to getting a tie but Dennis Bergkamp made it 2-1 successful wounded time,” he says. “Two weeks later, we scored precocious ourselves and hit Sparta Prague. Then I scored against Ajax, and missed a awesome chance to make it 3-2 astatine 90 minutes. They scored instantly connected nan antagonistic and won. Those were astonishing times.”
Now Lustrinelli is penning different glorious section successful Thun’s history arsenic nan caput coach, while nan president, Andres Gerber, was besides portion of nan 2005 squad. “I joined Thun towards nan extremity of my playing profession and unexpectedly recovered myself successful nan Champions League,” Gerber says. “An achilles tendon wounded forced maine to miss immoderate matches, but I had to play astatine Highbury pinch painkillers. I wanted to acquisition that.”
Gerber stayed astatine Thun arsenic sporting head aft retiring, and past took complaint successful 2020 astatine nan astir important time.
“We were relegated, nan erstwhile president Markus Lüthi resigned, and I was nan only personification who could switch him,” he says. “The business was very difficult. We didn’t cognize if we would past financially and had to count each euro. Somehow, we recovered our measurement until a caller investor arrived and we were safe.”
Thun were still a mid-table nine successful nan 2nd section erstwhile Lustrinelli was hired arsenic coach successful 2022. He vanished a successful spell astatine nan Swiss under-21 nationalist squad and had much lucrative offers, but returned to nan nine he knew well.
Gerber says: “I wasn’t successful touch pinch Mauro frequently, but we remained successful bully relations from our playing days. We went to Mauro’s home, explained nan task to him and were delighted that he agreed.” Lustrinelli adds: “After talking to Andres, I felt that was nan correct task for me. I chose pinch my heart.”
He had a batch of activity to do, arsenic nan captain, Marco Bürki, recalls: “I played for Thun connected indebtedness from Young Boys a decade ago, and returned to nan nine successful 2021 because I liked its culture. However, erstwhile I arrived it turned retired that nan activity morals weren’t location immoderate more. We had to alteration that and return responsibility. When Mauro was appointed, things started to amended gradually.”
Thun vanished sixth successful nan 2nd section successful 2023 and learned nan lesson. Gerber says: “We brought a batch of players connected loan, and location was nary squad spirit. Therefore, we chose to build nan squad astir those who beryllium to Thun and judge successful us. We wanted to beforehand section footballers.”
One of those section talents is Ethan Meichtry. At nan property of 15, he was discarded from nan academy during nan Covid crisis. “We had to train unsocial during nan lockdown. I didn’t return it excessively earnestly and wasn’t fresh erstwhile I came back, truthful nan coach told maine to leave,” he says. Meichtry went connected to activity arsenic a roadworthy builder successful nan town, while playing for nan amateur nine Dürrenast. He was spotted location by a younker coach from Thun and was excited to travel backmost successful 2023. By 2025, he was portion of nan lineup that won nan promotion.
Pundits claimed that inexperienced players specified arsenic Meichtry weren’t fresh for nan Super League, but Thun disagreed. “Continuity and tone are crucial,” Lustrinelli says. “We person a awesome group and had to enactment together. My ngo is to amended nan players. They helped Thun to spell up, and they sewage their chance successful nan apical division.”
Gerber adds: “We made a fewer signings, but it was easy for them to subordinate nan existing squad.”
Before nan season, Gerber and Lustrinelli targeted finishing successful nan apical six, which was considered unrealistic by many. “We had to beryllium ambitious, moreover though our fund is 2nd from past successful nan league,” nan president says. Then, during preseason, nan emotion was positive. “We saw that we were astatine a bully level, but evidently cipher thought astir challenging astatine nan top,” Bürki says.
Thun started nan play pinch 4 wins – an unprecedented grounds for a promoted squad – and ne'er looked back. Bürki says: “After 7 aliases 8 games, I retrieve sitting down pinch our prima midfielder Leonardo Bertone and saying: ‘Look, we are apical of nan table.’ That was funny. We person a batch of untested players, and didn’t cognize really they would react. They each responded brilliantly. We were ne'er nervous, ne'er felt pressure.”
By December, they cautiously thought that finishing successful nan apical 3 could beryllium possible, and nan last fixture of 2025 was fundamental. Lustrinelli says: “We were trailing 2-0 against Zürich astatine half-time and won 4-2. That is erstwhile I understood that this squad really has a winning mentality. We knew we tin make thing special.”
Lustrinelli adds: “A batch of group said that we couldn’t support it up aft nan Christmas break, but our performances really improved. We grew up mentally and genuinely believed successful ourselves.”
Thun went connected an unthinkable tally of 10 wins successful a row, while each nan different clubs, including heavyweights Young Boys and Basel, were wildly inconsistent. By February, their lead became insurmountable.
“It is insane to spell from roadworthy builder to champion of Switzerland successful 3 years. My friends can’t judge it,” Meichtry says. “If personification told maine that I would beryllium champion aft joining Thun, I would opportunity that he was drunk,” Bürki laughs.
Bürki was considered nan little talented footballer successful nan family, arsenic his elder relative Roman played for Borussia Dortmund arsenic a goalkeeper. He is now astatine St Louis City, and nan stopper had a clause successful his statement that he could subordinate his brother’s nine for free. “I person ever dreamed of playing pinch Roman, but successful retrospect I americium fortunate that those negotiations ne'er materialised,” he says.
Gerber says: “Our communicative proves that location are nary intolerable things successful football. Never opportunity never.” Lustrinelli is delighted erstwhile his squad is compared to Leicester’s Premier League title successful 2016. “Well, some had Italian coaches. I americium not Claudio Ranieri, but I americium a Swiss Italian,” he smiles.
Having signed a statement until 2028, he is apt to enactment astatine Thun longer than Ranieri did pinch Leicester. After sealing nan title, Thun will person nan chance to effort to suffice for nan Champions League for nan 2nd time. “That would beryllium a awesome measurement to adjacent a circle, but decidedly won’t beryllium easy. For now, we conscionable person to bask nan moment,” Gerber and Lustrinelli agree.
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