valued by Transfermarkt<\/a>. It was a fraction of what Young Boys (\u20ac65.8m) and Basel (\u20ac57.4m) \u2014 both regulars in European football \u2014 had to spend.<\/p>\n\u201cIt was strange when we started training last summer and there were no new players because, in the 17 previous seasons, we always had new players,\u201d Zurcher recalls.<\/p>\n
The squad, and the approach, did not change after promotion. \u201cThe tactics have been the same since the start,\u201d says Burki. \u201cWe built it up with small steps \u2014 if we did it well, we\u2019d go to the next step. (Eventually) the old steps were automatic, and we would just go to the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thun were realistic in their pre-season aims. Gerber, Lustrinelli and Zurcher all provide the same response when asked what they set out to achieve in 2025-26: \u201cFinish in the top six.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victories in each of their first four league games built confidence. \u201cWe say in Swiss, \u2018What you have, you have\u2019,\u201d says Gerber. \u201c(So the attitude was) Be happy with these points, because you can use them against relegation.\u201d Despite losing five times by mid-December, Thun were \u2014 to everyone\u2019s surprise \u2014 leading the table.<\/p>\n
The key moment, everyone agrees, was a home match against FC Zurich on December 20 \u2014 their final fixture before the season\u2019s winter break.<\/p>\n
Thun trailed 2-0 at half-time but rallied to win 4-2, scoring twice in the final five minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the moment we started to believe,\u201d Gerber recalls. \u201cWe were the winter champions and that showed it was not just good form or good luck, it was something more. The energy in the stadium, the whole team fighting and running, was a pleasure to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Making history<\/p>\n
Eleven undefeated games later, of which they won 10 \u2014 including another second-half comeback win, this time 2-1, at Bern-based Young Boys \u2014 was when everyone else started to believe, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThun is seen a little bit like the small brother of Young Boys (with Bern being only a 30-minute drive away),\u201d Burki, who began his career with the 17-time Swiss champions, explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have quality individuals, but we don\u2019t have the league\u2019s best players in every position. We can only achieve success as a team. Our big strength is being close with everyone and being on the same level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fitness coach Zurcher describes how, after every game, he took a grab of the league table as a memento of the time Thun were top of the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery week, I would take a screenshot, and then another,\u201d he says. \u201cNow, I\u2019m no longer doing it, because we\u2019ve been No 1 for so long!\u201d<\/p>\n
Dead Poets. Carpe diem<\/p>\n
President Gerber speaks of the 1989 movie Dead Poets Society, a coming-of-age drama in which schoolboys are inspired by poetry in 1950s America. \u201cSome of my philosophy comes from that approach,\u201d the 53-year-old says.<\/p>\n
As a gift to Gerber, the players printed a photo of a team dinner, titled with the film\u2019s most famous line of dialogue: \u201cO captain, my captain.\u201d His response was inspired by the plot\u2019s messaging: \u2018Carpe diem\u2019 \u2014 Latin for \u2018seize the day\u2019.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Captain-Oh-my-Captain.jpg\")
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\u201cPeople talked about Thun winning the league, but around the squad, it was not a topic,\u201d Zurcher said of their winning run. \u201cThere was no bonus for winning the championship (in players\u2019 contracts) because it seemed so far away!\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerber recalls the start of his presidency in 2021. \u201cThe first goal was to survive, because financially and mentally, it was hard. Now, the situation is surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The change in fortunes has happened at a disorientating speed. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I really understand what\u2019s going on at this moment. Maybe in two, three years, I will,\u201d says Lustrinelli.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven now, I get tears thinking about the title,\u201d admits Burki, 32. \u201cI dream that everyone at the club has one hand on the trophy, and we lift it together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burki, like everyone at Thun, has had little time to let the inevitability of their success sink in.<\/p>\n
When asked how he would react to the title, Gerber said: \u201cMaybe when I have the trophy in my hands with (coach) Mauro and (sporting director) Dominik, I will start to cry. I\u2019m looking forward to realising these emotions with my family. Jumping around and singing is not my thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two photographs pinned on a wall in Gerber\u2019s office sum up his club affinity. The first is of his son, Noe, in a Thun kit from nearly two decades ago, when his father was still playing for them.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Noe-and-Ana-Gerber-2025.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The second shows Noe, who is now 23, and his sister Ana celebrating on the pitch at Thun\u2019s Stockhorn Arena after the team secured promotion last summer.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Noe-Gerber-2005-06.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
More such photos are likely to appear in Gerber\u2019s office next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an example for anyone in life,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can dream.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FC Thun are not used to making headlines, but the newly crowned champions of Switzerland are arguably this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[12520,32984,27399,89,2019,41,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-59391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-switzerland","8":"tag-champions-league","9":"tag-europa-league","10":"tag-international-football","11":"tag-premier-league","12":"tag-soccer","13":"tag-swiss","14":"tag-switzerland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116511304791820494","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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