Thun's Fairytale Run: On the Verge of a Historic Title
Surrounded by the lake and mountains of the same name, the small Swiss town of Thun has a population of just 45,000 and a beautiful castle. But it's also emerging as the unlikely centre of Swiss football.
Last summer, the Swiss Football Association (SFV) announced that a new association centre called Swiss Football Home would be built in Thun. At the same time, local club FC Thun began writing what is arguably the most sensational fairytale in Swiss football history.
A Remarkable Rise
After five years in the second tier, Thun secured promotion back to the Super League in 2025. They began the season with the second-cheapest squad in the league and the modest aim of avoiding relegation. Now, the newly promoted side is on the verge of winning the first league title in the club's history.
Their last defeat came in mid-December. Since then, Thun have won twelve of their last 13 competitive matches. No team has scored more goals or conceded fewer. With eight games remaining, they hold a 16-point lead over the nearest challenger, FC St. Gallen.
Switzerland's traditional football elite have been left far behind: reigning double winners FC Basel, led by captain Xherdan Shaqiri, the previously dominant Young Boys Bern, and the two traditional Zurich clubs FCZ and Grasshoppers, record champions and cooperation partners of FC Bayern, are even fighting against relegation.
Last weekend, Thun thrashed Grasshoppers 5-1 at home. The Stockhorn Arena was once again sold out with 10,000 spectators, meaning almost a quarter of the city's population was watching.
Lustrinelli and Gerber: The Familiar Faces
Thun's unlikely story is reminiscent of Leicester City's 2016 league title in England and, here in Switzerland, 1. FC Kaiserslautern's 1998 triumph; the Red Devils also pulled off the coup as a newly promoted side. In Switzerland, a club has actually marched straight from the second tier to the title before. In 1952, it was Grasshoppers, though they were far less dominant than Thun are now, with just a single-point lead.
Thun has not won a single title in the club's history to date. They have lost two cup finals. Their best league finish came in 2005 with second place, after which the team, led by striker Mauro Lustrinelli and midfield dynamo Andreas Gerber, sensationally qualified for the Champions League. The two protagonists from back then are also playing leading roles in the current fairytale: Lustrinelli as manager, Gerber as president and sporting director.
In the difficult search for reasons behind this seemingly inexplicable run of success, one ends up with local loyalty and continuity. Gerber has been part of Thun's management since retiring in 2009, whilst Lustrinelli has been coaching the first team since 2022.
The Faces of the Fairytale
There are no internationally renowned stars in the squad, but there is at least one familiar name: Marco Bürki.
Thun's 32-year-old captain and defensive leader is the younger brother of long-serving BVB goalkeeper Roman Bürki (now at St. Louis City in the MLS). Leonardo Bertone, also 32, is already being compared to David Beckham in Switzerland for his charisma and free-kicks. Bürki and Bertone both hail from the Thun area and are true role models.
The most promising talent is considered to be U21 international Franz-Ethan Meichtry (20). The prolific midfielder is already being linked with a call-up to the Swiss senior national team, a possible World Cup appearance and a subsequent move abroad.
Thun currently has three senior internationals: top scorer Elmin Rastoder plays for North Macedonia, Brighton Labeau for Martinique and Mattias Käit for Estonia. One of the seven foreign-based players is German. Dominik Franke (27) came through the youth ranks at RB Leipzig. The left-back played for FC Ingolstadt 04 until 2023, before ending up in Thun after a few months without a club – and is likely to become a champion soon.
