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Fussballclub Thun 1898 is a Swiss
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team from the
Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...
town of
Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thoune) ...
. The club plays in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the
Swiss football league system The Swiss football league system, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Switzerland, with seven teams from Liechtenstein, and one each from exclaves of Germany and Italy, also competing. The system has a hierarchi ...
, following relegation from the
Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...
in the 2019–20 season. The club plays at the
Stockhorn Arena Stockhorn Arena (formerly known as Arena Thun) is a football stadium in Thun, Switzerland. It has a capacity of 10,000 spectators and opened in 2011. It is the home of FC Thun of the Swiss Super League. History From 1954 until 2011, Stadion Lac ...
which accommodates a total of 10,000 supporters, both seated and standing. The club's colours are red and white. The biggest achievements in the club's history are two second place finishes in the
Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
(1955 and 2019), as well as reaching the group stages of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League.


History


Until 1995

FC Thun was founded on 1 May 1898. The club played in the second Swiss division, the Nationalliga B (now known as Swiss Challenge League) from 1946 to 1950 and in the 1953–54 season. At the end of the 1953–54 season, the team finished in second place only behind
FC Lugano FC Lugano is a Swiss football club based in Lugano. The club was refounded as AC Lugano in 2004 as a result of relegation and the financial situation of FC Lugano, which was founded in 1908. In 2008, the club reverted to its original name, FC Lu ...
and was promoted to the first division, the Nationalliga A (now known as the
Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in the top tier of the Swiss football league system and has been played in its current format since the 2003–04 season ...
), for the first time in the club's history. However, the club finished the 1954–55 season in second to last place and was relegated back to the second division after playing just one season in the top flight. In 1955, Thun reached the final of the
Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
, which was lost 1–3 to
La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city l ...
. From 1955 to 1970, Thun continuously played in the Nationalliga B, before being relegated to the Swiss 1. Liga, back then the third tier of the Swiss football league system, at the end of the 1969–70 season.


From third division to Champions League

In 1995, Andy Egli became the manager of Thun. Two years later, at the end of the 1996–97 season, Thun regained promotion to the Nationalliga B for the first time since 1970. Under manager
Georges Bregy Georges Bregy (born 17 January 1958, in Raron) is a retired Swiss football striker and midfielder. He was capped 54 times and scored 12 goals for the Swiss national team between 1984 and 1994. He played four games at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, a ...
, the club took part in the 1999–2000 Nationalliga A/B playoff games, but could not secure promotion to the first league and remained in the Nationalliga B. From July 2001 to December 2004 the team was coached by
Hanspeter Latour Hanspeter Latour (born 4 June 1947 in Thun) is a Swiss football manager and former goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated p ...
. Under his management, Thun was promoted to the Nationalliga A after 47 years of absence from the Swiss top flight at the end of the 2001–02 season. After Latour left Thun to coach Grasshopper Club Zürich,
Urs Schönenberger Urs Schönenberger (born 21 February 1959) is a Swiss football manager and former player. References 1959 births Living people Swiss footballers FC Zürich players AC Bellinzona players FC Luzern players SC Kriens players FC Baden ...
was appointed as the new head coach. Thun finished the 2004–05 season in second place only behind
FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, a ...
and thus became runners-up of the Swiss championship, which was rebranded from Nationalliga A to Swiss Super League by then. This constituted the best league result in the history of the club and also secured the club a place in the qualifying rounds for the Champions League. By beating
Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...
(3–2 on aggregate) and
Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association ...
(4–0 on aggregate) in the qualifying rounds, FC Thun reached the group stages of the 2005–06 Champions League. They were drawn in Group B alongside European giants Arsenal,
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
and
Sparta Prague ) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští'' , ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena , capacity = 19,416 , clubname = Sparta Prague , image = Sparta Praha logo.png , image_size = 160px , fu ...
. They started their campaign on 14 September 2005 away at Arsenal, where after equalising through Nelson Ferreira, they narrowly lost 2–1 after Dennis Bergkamp scored in the match's final seconds. On 27 September they hosted the
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
champions Sparta Prague at home, the
Stadion Wankdorf The Wankdorf Stadium (; between 2005 and 2020 known as Stade de Suisse) is a football stadium in Bern, Switzerland. The second largest all-seater football stadium in Switzerland, it currently serves as the home ground of the Swiss football team ...
in Bern, where all the club's European home matches were held, as the Lachen Stadium does not meet Uefa's prerequisites for Champions League venues. Thun's 1–0 victory thanks to
Selver Hodžić Selver Hodžić (born 12 October 1978) is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Swiss former professional footballer who played as a defender. Playing career Born in Brčko, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Hodžić came to Switzerland as a war re ...
's 80th-minute winner propelled them into second place in the group. Following a loss to Ajax on 2 November, they lost 1–0 at home to Arsenal and with Ajax beating Sparta Prague, FC Thun exited the Champions League. However, Thun drew 0–0 with Sparta Prague in their last group match, securing third place in the group and thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup Round of 32. Despite his success, coach
Urs Schönenberger Urs Schönenberger (born 21 February 1959) is a Swiss football manager and former player. References 1959 births Living people Swiss footballers FC Zürich players AC Bellinzona players FC Luzern players SC Kriens players FC Baden ...
was regarded as a controversial figure by the club management because of his uncompromising nature and communication style. Just three days prior to their Uefa Cup tie against
Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
, on 13 February 2006, Thun sacked Schönenberger, who had guided them to the Champions' League group stages and replaced him with
Heinz Peischl Heinz Peischl (born 9 December 1963) is a retired Austrian football midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case ...
. In the first leg, Thun managed a surprise 1–0 over Hamburg at the Stade de Suisse. However, Hamburg was too strong at their home, the
Volksparkstadion Volksparkstadion () is a football stadium in Hamburg, Germany, and is the home of Hamburger SV. History HSV actually have nothing to do with the origins of the stadium, even though they own the current arena. Before the club moved to the cur ...
, and managed to overturn the deficit, winning the second leg 2–0 (2–1 on aggregate).


Between first and second division

FC Thun finished the 2007–08 season in last place and was subsequently relegated to the second division. Two years later, the club managed to win the 2009–10 Swiss Challenge League and was promoted back to the Super League under head coach
Murat Yakin Murat Yakin ( tr, Yakın; born 15 September 1974) is a Swiss football coach and former player. He is the manager of the Switzerland national football team. Playing career Yakin spent the longest spell of his career playing for his hometown c ...
. Yakin led the team to a fifth-place finish in the following season but left Thun to assume the role as head coach of
FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (german: Luzern). It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Super League, the top tier of the Swiss football league s ...
before the start of the 2011–12 season. Under the new coach
Bernard Challandes Bernard Challandes (born 26 July 1951) is a Swiss professional football coach and former player who last managed Kosovo. Coaching career Clubs Challandes became coach of Saint-Imier in 1978. Subsequently, he has been the coach of many other tea ...
, the team played in the qualifying rounds of the 2011–12 Europa League. After winning against
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
n side
KF Vllaznia Shkodër Klubi I Futbollit Vllaznia Shkodër, commonly known as Vllaznia is an Albanian football club based in the city of Shkodër. It is the association football branch of the Vllaznia Sports Club, which was founded on 16 February 1919. It is also the ...
(2–1 on aggregate) and advancing against
Italia Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
n club
US Palermo Palermo Football Club, more simply known as Palermo F.C. or Palermo (; scn, Paliemmu, link=no, ), is an Italian football club based in the Sicilian city of Palermo, conventionally founded for the first time on 1 November 1900. Among the clu ...
because of the
away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...
(3–3 on aggregate), Thun lost 1–5 on aggregate to Stoke City in the final play-off round and thus missed qualification for the group stages.
Urs Fischer Urs Fischer (born 2 May 1973) is a Swiss-born contemporary visual artist living in New York City. Fischer’s practice includes sculpture, installation and photography. Education and early career Born to two doctors as the second of two children ...
took over management of the team in January 2013 and lead FC Thun to a fifth place finish in the 2012–13 season. In the qualifying rounds of the 2013–14 Europa League, Thun managed to win against
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
team
Chikhura Sachkhere Football Club Chikhura Sachkhere, commonly known as Chikhura Sachkhere or simply Chikhura, is a Georgian football club based in Sachkhere. After the 2022 season they were relegated to Liga 4, the fourth tier of Georgian league system. His ...
(5–1 on aggregate),
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
side
BK Häcken Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known as BK Häcken or simply Häcken (), is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. It currently plays in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Formed on 2 August 1940, Häcken has p ...
(3–1 on aggregate) as well as
FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...
from
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
(3–1 on aggregate) and thus qualified for the group stages of the competition. They were drawn in Group G against
Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...
, KRC Genk and
Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...
. In their group, the team won only one out of the six fixtures (1–0 against Rapid Wien) and lost the other five games, finishing last in the group and dropping out of the competition. In 2019, FC Thun reached the final of the
Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
for the second time in the club's history. They lost the game 1–2 against
FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel, in the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 13 times, a ...
. In November 2019, PMG, Chien Lee and The Seelig Group invested in the club and became the co-owners of FC Thun football club. Thun finished the 2019–20 season in second to last place and had to face the runners-up team of the 2019–20 Challenge League,
FC Vaduz FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...
, in the relegation play-offs. After losing 0–2 in the first leg played away in
Rheinpark Stadion Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz is the national stadium of Liechtenstein. It plays host to home matches of the Liechtenstein national football team, and is also the home of football club FC Vaduz. It lies on the banks of the river Rhine, just metres ...
, the 4–3 victory in the second leg was not enough to win on aggregate, which meant that FC Thun was relegated to the Swiss Challenge League. In the following season, the club reached second place in the Challenge League and qualified for the promotion play-offs, but lost 4–6 on aggregate against
FC Sion Football Club de Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss football team from the city of Sion. The club was founded in 1909, and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have won the Swiss Super League twice, and ...
and remained in the second division.


Current squad


On loan


European record

*Q= Qualifying *PO = Play-off


Former coaches

* Hans Luder (1946–48) *
Hans Pulver Hans Pulver (28 December 1902 – 8 April 1977) was a Swiss footballer who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. He was a member of the Swiss team, which won the silver medal in the football tournament. He coached BSC Young Boys, FC Bern ...
(1948–49) *
Jimmy Townley James Chadwick Townley (2 May 1902 – 1983) was an English professional footballer who played SC Victoria Hamburg, FC St. Gallen, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion and Clapton Orient. Career Townley played for the German t ...
(1949–50) * Hans Luder (1953–54) * Hans Luder/ Hermann Czischek (1954–56) * Hermann Czischek (1956–58) * Alfred "Coppi" Beck (1958–62) * Hermann Jucker (1962–63) * Matthias Rossbach (1963–67) * Heinz Schneiter (1967–69) * Lothar Weise (1969–70) * Miroslav Patak (1971–72) * Fridolin Hofer (1972–73) * René Raboud (1973–74) *
Hanspeter Latour Hanspeter Latour (born 4 June 1947 in Thun) is a Swiss football manager and former goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated p ...
(1978–83) * Otto Messerli (1984–86) * Martin Trümpler (1986–90) * Willi Kaufmann (1990–92) * Peter Mast (1992–93) * Stefan Marini (1994–95) * Andy Egli (1 July 1995 – 31 December 1998) *
Georges Bregy Georges Bregy (born 17 January 1958, in Raron) is a retired Swiss football striker and midfielder. He was capped 54 times and scored 12 goals for the Swiss national team between 1984 and 1994. He played four games at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, a ...
(1 Jan 1999 – 30 June 2001) *
Hanspeter Latour Hanspeter Latour (born 4 June 1947 in Thun) is a Swiss football manager and former goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated p ...
(1 July 2001 – 31 December 2004) *
Urs Schönenberger Urs Schönenberger (born 21 February 1959) is a Swiss football manager and former player. References 1959 births Living people Swiss footballers FC Zürich players AC Bellinzona players FC Luzern players SC Kriens players FC Baden ...
(1 Jan 2005 – 13 February 2006) *
Adrian Kunz Adrian Kunz (born 7 July 1967) is a Swiss former footballer and an ex-manager of several Swiss clubs, most recently Swiss Challenge League side FC Wohlen in 2011–12. Kunz played as a forward in a playing career that included spells at domest ...
''(interim)'' (13 Feb 2006 – 15 February 2006) *
Heinz Peischl Heinz Peischl (born 9 December 1963) is a retired Austrian football midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case ...
(14 Feb 2006 – 6 March 2007) *
Jeff Saibene Jeff Saibene (born 13 September 1968) is a Luxembourgish former professional footballer and manager of Swiss Challenge League club Neuchâtel Xamax. Personal life Saibene is a citizen of both Luxembourg and Switzerland and married with a Swi ...
(6 March 2007 – 5 June 2007) *
René van Eck René van Eck (born 18 February 1966) is a Dutch former professional footballer who works as Ludovic Magnin's assistant at Swiss Super League side FC Zürich. Playing career Club Van Eck started his professional career at local side Excels ...
(1 July 2007 – 30 June 2008) * Hansruedi Baumann (1 July 2008 – 12 May 2009) * Eric-Pi Zuercher (2009) * Andres Gerber ''(interim)'' (12 May 2009 – 30 June 2009) *
Murat Yakin Murat Yakin ( tr, Yakın; born 15 September 1974) is a Swiss football coach and former player. He is the manager of the Switzerland national football team. Playing career Yakin spent the longest spell of his career playing for his hometown c ...
(1 July 2009 – 30 June 2011) *
Bernard Challandes Bernard Challandes (born 26 July 1951) is a Swiss professional football coach and former player who last managed Kosovo. Coaching career Clubs Challandes became coach of Saint-Imier in 1978. Subsequently, he has been the coach of many other tea ...
(1 July 2011 – 20 November 2012) * Mauro Lustrinelli ''(interim)'' (21 Nov 2012 – 31 December 2012) *
Urs Fischer Urs Fischer (born 2 May 1973) is a Swiss-born contemporary visual artist living in New York City. Fischer’s practice includes sculpture, installation and photography. Education and early career Born to two doctors as the second of two children ...
(1 Jan 2013– June 2015) * Ciriaco Sforza (26 July 2015 – 30 September 2015) *
Jeff Saibene Jeff Saibene (born 13 September 1968) is a Luxembourgish former professional footballer and manager of Swiss Challenge League club Neuchâtel Xamax. Personal life Saibene is a citizen of both Luxembourg and Switzerland and married with a Swi ...
(1 October 2015 –19 March 2017)


Honours

Swiss Challenge League/Nationalliga B * Champions: 2009–10 * Promoted: 1953–54, 2001–02
Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...
* ''Runners-up:'' 1954–55, 2018–19


References


External links

*
FC Thun
at UEFA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Thun, Fc Football clubs in Switzerland Thun Association football clubs established in 1898 1898 establishments in Switzerland