Thun-believable: Promoted club set to clinch Swiss league title

Back in the top flight after a five-year absence, promoted FC Thun are on the brink of completing one of European football's most improbable title runs by winning the Swiss Super League to secure the club's first major trophy in their 128-year history.

Victory at Basel on Saturday would seal the fairytale.

Anything less, and Thun could still be celebrating come Sunday if St Gallen fail to beat Sion. The title would also bring Champions League football, 20 years after their only previous appearance.

Thun have taken the league by storm on their return, leading the standings since October and outpacing traditional heavyweights such as Basel and Young Boys despite operating on a fraction of their budgets.

Thun's tale of promotion to title winners has few parallels, most notably Nottingham Forest's English league triumph in 1978 and Kaiserslautern's Bundesliga success 20 years later.

Even within Switzerland such a rise is almost unheard of. The only previous example dates back to 1952 when Grasshoppers completed a similar feat, though they were already firmly established as the country's most successful club.

Thun, meanwhile, reached the top flight for the first time in 1954 and were swiftly relegated.

Their relationship with the top tier has been a fragile one, bouncing around the second and third divisions for decades before a top tier return in 2001.

Their only previous flirtation with the top spot came when they finished second to Basel in 2005, and the following season Thun reached the Champions League group stage, where they beat Sparta Prague and pushed Arsenal close.

The English side needed late winners in both meetings, and current manager Mauro Lustrinelli was a Thun player during that European adventure. The 50-year-old is now set to take the club to even greater heights.

While they have reached the Swiss Cup final twice, silverware has always eluded Thun - until now.

With an 11-point lead and four rounds remaining, the finish line is in sight.

(Reporting by Trevor Stynes Editing by Christian Radnedge)