Thun is one win away from winning the championship. In 2005 they competed in the Champions League, but in 2020 they risked collapse. The first team was reborn thanks to two former players, responsible for unforgettable seasons.
Two days shy of its 128th anniversary, Thun could bring forward the celebrations with an unprecedented Swiss championship win. Leading the league since October, this humble club visits reigning champions Basel (5th) on Saturday (7:30 pm) and is one win away from confirming this historic achievement. Considered to have the second lowest budget in the league, Thun was promoted a year ago after five seasons in the second division.
Located 30 kilometers from the capital Bern and near the Swiss Alps, the city of Tunis = whose name derives from the Thunberg River = receives praise for its natural landscapes, reminiscent of those imagined in fairy tales. However, both the sporting season and the landscapes are real.
Now, to understand the true magnitude of the achievement built by Thun, it is important to go back 21 years.
From the Champions League to restructuring.
After finishing second in the league in 2005, the Swiss team made their Champions League group stage debut, losing to Arsenal (1-0 and 2-1) and Ajax (4-2 and 2-0), and winning at home against Sparta Prague (1-0). However, years of extremes followed, including relegations and promotions, sex scandals and involvement in match=fixing schemes, in addition to their participation in the Europa League in 2013.
In this whirlwind, in 2011, Thun inaugurated the Stockhorn Arena, with a capacity of 10,000 fans.
Following another sex scandal within the squad in 2016, the pandemic proved to be a harsh blow, relegating Thun to the second division and jeopardizing the club’s finances.
Going back to 2005, Swiss player Andreas Gerber was part of the squad that brought the Champions League trophy to the quiet town. The former midfielder, 53, remained involved in the club’s structure, first as sporting director, then as president. And he continues to do so today. In an interview with The Guardian , Gerber explains that he took on the leadership role because nobody wanted to take over a club that was counting every penny.
Competing in the second division and with no prospects of returning to the elite in the short term, Gerber turned to another figure from 2005: Mauro Lustrinelli. The former Swiss striker = now 50 years old = had already managed Thun, but without impressive results. In any case, his return in 2022 came at a good time.
Step by step, Thun failed to gain promotion in 2024, defeated by Grasshoppers in the play=offs. A year later, Lustrinelli’s team won the second division, finishing 11 points ahead of Aarau, who were also defeated by Grasshoppers in the play=offs.
In this regard, it is important to remember that Grasshoppers is the club with the most league titles in Switzerland (28), a result of their dominance at the end of the last century. Basel, in turn, has 21 league titles.
2025/26 and an unforgettable campaign.
Despite a promising pre-season, Andreas Gerber and Mauro Lustrinelli insist that nobody anticipated a campaign of this magnitude. This was especially true after four consecutive wins to start the season = unprecedented for a newly promoted team = when Thun were eliminated from the Cup and defeated by Basel (3-1), Young Boys (4-2), and St. Gallen (2-0). Even so, Lustrinelli found stability and benefited from the inconsistency of their direct rivals.
Back in 2026 they beat Young Boys (4-1 and 2-1) and Basel (2-1 and 3-1), in addition to drawing with St. Gallen (2-2).
After 24 wins, two draws and eight losses in 34 rounds, Thun has 74 points, 11 ahead of St. Gallen. At the bottom of the championship qualifying group are Young Boys (6th) and Basel (5th).
The league leaders are by far the best attack, with 75 goals, 14 of which were scored by Elmin Rastoder. Born in Switzerland but an international for North Macedonia, the 24-year-old forward is in his second season with Thun and is going through the best phase of his career, with 14 goals and six assists.
In a season marked by Mjällby’s unprecedented title in Sweden and Hearts’ promising campaign in Scotland , this Saturday we can expect Thun, the Swiss phoenix, to win its first major title, as well as return to the Champions League. And once again with Andreas Gerber and Mauro Lustrinelli in the group photo.
With four rounds remaining in the competition, one victory is all Thun needs to be crowned the 20th Swiss champion.