Since promotion to the top flight in , FC Thun have qualified for Europe four times, played Arsenal and Ajax in the Champions League and gained a new stadium. Currently, though, this little club overshadowed by nearby Berne is treading water, surviving in the Swiss Super League but without the clout to challenge the big boys.
Liga in , then 2. Liga to the third-tier 1. Liga with the league restructure of Over 12 months from the spring of , FC Thun gained promotion to the top-flight Nationalliga A, opened a new ground, the Stadion Lachen, and made a losing appearance in the Swiss Cup final of A defeat to La Chaux-de-Fonds, the double winners three goals up on 20 minutes, coincided with relegation after one brief season with the big boys. Set in a sports complex beside Lake Thun, panoramically backdropped by the Alps, the Lachen was one of the most serene grounds in Nationalliga B, where Thun settled for 15 years until Relegation preceded nearly 30 years of lower-league anonymity, until the arrival of former Swiss international defender Andy Egli as coach in Gaining promotion to the Nationalliga B in after a year absence, Thun welcomed the arrival of Milaim Rama, a Swiss-Albanian striker whose goals would take them to the top flight in It was his solitary strike before half-time that beat Winterthur in the promotional play-off.
Former Thun goalkeeper Hanspeter Latour remained in place as coach as Thun performed creditably in the Nationalliga A, Rama earning the first of seven Swiss caps. Thun then beat Sparta Prague, twice lost to Ajax, before another red card influenced the return game with Arsenal. There were also problems nearer to home. The Swiss League had warned Thun that the Lachen did not match requirements for top-level domestic football.
Unable to persuade the electorate to fund a new stadium from public funds, the club faced demotion until agreement with a contracting company saw the construction of the Arena Thun , on the western outskirts of town by the A6 motorway. Meanwhile, the return of Milaim Rama could not prevent relegation in Still playing at the Lachen, Thun hired former Swiss international centre-back Murat Yakin as coach to lead them back to the Super League.
With attacking midfielder Ezequiel Scarione in prolific form, Thun won the Challenge League in and within one season were back in Europe. After a narrow win over Palermo, Thun were then swept aside by Stoke in the play-off round. Thun had better luck two years later. With stadium sponsorship money from Alpine cable-car company Stockhorn , Thun made a further Europa League appearance two years later, falling in the play-off round to Sparta Prague on aggregate.
