Thursday’s 7-0 defeat to Lech Poznan in the first leg of the Europa League play-off was historic: FC Thun equalled the record for the heaviest defeat suffered by a Swiss club in Europe. Only FC Basel had previously lost by the same scoreline, going down 7-0 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16 in 2012. “Leck Posen! Thun sink in Poland”, headlined the tabloid Blick , which wrote of the “shame of Poznan”.
It could easily have been worse. Thun were 5-0 down by half-time and conceded again straight after the restart to make it 6-0. The Polish hosts then took the sting out of the game rather than running up the score, before adding one more late on for 7-0.
Having fallen to Dinamo Zagreb after extra time in the Champions League qualifiers at the end of July, Thun will now miss out on the Europa League as well. If they go out against Poznan, participation in the Conference League league phase is at least assured.
Domestically, little is going better. After opening with a 3-1 win over FC Luzern, they have since taken two heavy defeats against Young Boys Bern (6-0) and FC Basel (4-2).
Last season, Thun sensationally stormed to the first title in the club’s history as a promoted side with a no-name squad and without expensive transfers. Since then, the club from the small town of the same name, with a population of only 45,000, have been falling apart.
Coach and sporting director departed after the title win
Title-winning coach Mauro Lustrinelli left for Union Berlin. Gian-Luca Privitelli replaced him. The 48-year-old has no experience in the professional senior game, having previously spent many years working as a youth coach at various Swiss clubs.
Following the debacle in Poznan, he admitted tactical errors. His team’s decision to keep pressing bravely even after going 3-0 down instead of limiting the damage “is on me”.
So far, Privitelli has won only three of his first nine competitive matches this season: the league opener, the cup tie against amateur club FC Saxon Sports and the home game against Vikingur Reykjavik of Iceland in the Europa League qualifiers. The pressure on him has long been enormous, and a dismissal in the near future may well be looming.
Alongside coach Lustrinelli, sporting director Dominik Albrecht also recently left the club. At the start of August, right in the middle of the transfer window, he unexpectedly stepped down because he wanted to spend more time with his family. Simone Rapp, still only 33, succeeded him after playing for FC Wil until this summer and, much like coach Privitelli, is completely inexperienced.
IMAGOFC Thun suffer a severe drain in attack
Meanwhile, Thun have lost a number of key players, and the damage has been especially severe in attack. Christopher Ibayi, Ethan Meichtry, Elmin Rastoder and Leonardo Bertone, the top four scorers from the title-winning season, have all already gone. Kastriot Imeri and Valmir Matoshi were next in the club’s internal rankings, joint fifth.
Imeri was only at Thun on loan from Bern, and a permanent deal collapsed for financial reasons. There are no major backers in Thun and, despite the title, the financial situation is rather strained. He returned to his parent club, faced his former team-mates on matchday two and scored in Bern’s 6-0 win.
Matoshi, meanwhile, is on the verge of a move to Sturm Graz. Left-back Michael Heule, who was significantly at fault for three goals against Poznan, is expected to join Bundesliga-relegated side 1. FC Heidenheim for around three million euros.
So far, there have been no high-calibre reinforcements. Thun paid one million euros for 19-year-old Italian striking prospect Riccardo Braschi from Fiorentina, but he has played only 20 minutes this season. The other arrivals have mainly come from the lower tiers in Switzerland or smaller international leagues.
FC Thun: captain Marco Bürki suspended
According to specialist portal Transfermarkt , Thun’s squad have the fourth-lowest combined market value among the 12 clubs in the Swiss top flight. That does not have to mean much, though. Even in last season’s title-winning campaign, Thun had a significantly cheaper and less prominent squad than their wealthier rivals from the football strongholds of Basel, Bern and Zurich.
Currently ninth in the league, Thun have the worst defence in the division with 11 goals conceded in three matches. In a way, the slump had already been signposted in the closing weeks of last season. Thun lost six of their last eight league matches, but their lead was so big the title never truly came under threat.
On the penultimate matchday, they were thrashed 8-3 by Bern, and that result still reverberates today. Captain Marco Bürki, brother of former BVB goalkeeper Roman, was sent off for violent conduct and suspended for five matches. He therefore missed the start of the league season. Curiously, the Champions League exit in Zagreb also turned after a 2-0 lead once Bürki was sent off.