HP Terbaru 2023 – Can FC Thun produce a miracle title win in Switzerland?

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By Alex Roberts

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Leicester City winning the Premier League the season after barely surviving relegation will forever go down as one of the sport’s great underdog stories. It may never be recreated in England, but in Switzerland, something similar is on the brink of becoming reality.

FC Thun earned promotion back to the Swiss Super League for the first time since 2019/20 winning the Challenge League at a canter, finishing 11 points above second placed Aarau, who ended up losing the two-legged play-off that would have seen them join Thun in the top flight.

Hailing from Switzerland’s 11^th largest city, not much was expected of Thun heading into the season. They’ve been a bit of a yo-yo club since the turn of the century, going from competing in the Champions League to relegation several times.

Few know that quite as well as current manager and former player Mauro Lustrinelli. As a former striker, he was a key member of the Thun side that earned a place in the 2005/06 Champions League, the first and only time they’ve competed in Europe’s elite competition.

He didn’t get to enjoy it though, deciding to leave for Sparta Prague in the summer of 2006 before returning 2011 and helping Thun to an unremarkable fifth place finish. For reference, there were only ten teams in the Swiss Super League back then.

Lustrinelli took the reins as manager in 2022/23, and it was a poor first season. Thun ended the campaign in sixth with 12 wins, 13 draws, and 11 defeats, but the club stood by him, and are now starting to reap the rewards of their patience.

Last season, Thun played in a 4-3-2-1 formation, kinda like the ‘Flying V’ from the 1992 classic Mighty Ducks film but without the ice skates and Emilio Estevez. It was fast attacking football, but there was still a necessity to tweak it just a little.

This time around, Lustrinelli recognised he needed to adapt, maybe be a little more conservative in the way he wants his side to operate. So, Thun are playing in a 4-2-2-2, with the two central midfielders sitting deep to help dictate play.

Thun don’t go out there with the intention of dominating the ball, they have an average possession of 46.3%, which is the ninth lowest in a league of just 12 sides. What they do really well, however, is create, and score their chances.

So far this season, they’re scoring the most goals per match with 2.1, have the second highest xG at 40.5, and have the highest number of shots on target per match at 6.1. Lustrinelli has been able to stick to his principles, and it’s taken everyone else completely off guard.

Of course, that requires all of the players to really buy into what Lustrinelli is doing. Thun have a very average average age of 25.5, but it’s Leonardo Bertone, one of the club’s older heads at the ripe old age of 31, that is really leading the way.

One of those crucially important defensive midfielders we mentioned, Bertone has been outstanding starting 18 of their 20 league games. It would have been all of them if it wasn’t for a couple little injuries early in the season.

Bertone does absolutely everything required, and a little bit more, for his side. His passing stats clearly show that his teammates trust him to start attacks, with 521 completed at a rate of 71.4%, he isn’t passing it backwards and sideways, he’s Thun’s dictator. In a rhythmic sense, not a tyrannical one.

He pings balls up field for fun, with 73 accurate long balls, 17 chances created, and nine successful crosses, while also contributing in front of goal. Bertone has six league goals so far this season, although three of them have been penalties.

Don’t expect him to be running about like a Moisés Caicedo, though. Bertone’s defensive numbers are fine, he’s won 24 tackles, 61 duels, and 20 interceptions. He excels at winning the ball back in the final third with 10, however.

Because the Swiss Super League is so small, Thun have to face bigger sides a minimum of three times. This coming week will define their season, with a visit from Young Boys and then a trip to Basel. It’s time to really get their heads on.

Thun’s MASSIVE 3-1 win away at Grasshopper on Sunday (January 18) took them six points clear at the summit, but closest competitors St Gallen are breathing down their necks with a game in hand.

Their previous games against Switzerland’s most successful sides didn’t exactly go well. Basel made the trip to the Stockhorn Arena in mid-September, and star man Xherdan Shaqiri absolutely ran the show, sealing their 3-1 win with a 98^th minute penalty against ten-man Thun.

Thun faced Young boys in the very next fixture, and again, it went poorly. Lustrinelli’s side actually took the lead in the 50^th minute through striker Christopher Ibayi, but goals from Sergio Cordova and Chris Bedia in the span of just four minutes gave the home side the lead.

Franz-Ethan Meichtry restored parity, but as the game went on, Young Boys proved too strong, and Bedia bagged his second before Christian Fassnacht tied it all in a neat little bow in the 90^th minute.

Lustrinelli has completely transformed Thun. Leicester’s title win will be mentioned as the pinnacle, but Thun’s story is just as remarkable, perhaps even a little more impressive, considering it would be back-to-back titles, and a promoted side winning the division they’ve just joined.

Whatever happens over the coming week, everyone involved at the club can hold their heads high. We just hope we haven’t jinxed anything…

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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