Challenge Series
“You can’t choose”: FC Aarau starts against favorite Thun
The first game, the first big hurdle: FC Aarau will face FC Thun at the start of the season in Brügglifeld. If you look at the past, it doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad.
“You can’t choose,” says Aarau coach Brunello Iacopetta as he opens the opponent Thun. This means that FC Aarau will likely face their toughest opponent this evening in Brügglifeld (8.15 pm/AZ).
The Tuners, who narrowly edged out the Grasshoppers in the promotion play-off, are considered favorites for promotion to the Super League. But Iacopetta also says: “I think Thun will not be happy that they have to come here immediately for the start.”
Aarau coach Brunello Iacopetta answers some questions in a video interview.
Thun has an excellent squad
Of course, because the people of Aarau have at least this to show after difficult years: an excellent record against Thun. Last season, for example, FC Aarau finished 33 points behind the Bernese Oberlanders, but they clearly dominated the home games: they swept Thun out of the Brügglifeld with 5:2 and 3:00.
In the spring there was a 3-0 home win against Thun: Nikola Gjorgjev from Aarau is celebrating the 1-0 final. (Aarau, April 19, 2024)
Like most teams in the Challenge Series, FC Thun also had a lot of mutations. At first glance, it seems that he is not as good in attack after the departure of the two top scorers, Koro Koné and Daniel dos Santos. Having added Genis Monolio and Fabio Fehr in defense and midfield, coach Mauro Lustrinelli has an excellent squad in terms of quantity and quality by Challenge League standards.
There is a question mark regarding the position of the goalkeeper. Regular goalkeeper Mateo Matic’s contract was not extended. Nino Ziswiler, who was promoted to number 1, will be out for a long time after breaking his fibula. Solothurn’s Niklas Steffen, who was promoted to the Super League as a substitute keeper with Lausanne-Ouchy in 2022/23 and played in the Promotion League with Rapperswil-Jona last season, is now in goal.