After Winterthur's 2:1 victory over FC Biel / Bienne, possibly the only football club with a backslash in their name, we were at a loose end for Sunday and so we decided to tick-off another of the Swiss 36. This time, the target was a Super League tie between FC Thun and BSC Young Boys, the Berner Derby.
Now, Young Boys - jokes about their name will be made when we visit the Stade de Suisse. You have no idea how difficult it is to pass up the opportunity. But for now I am a martyr to my temptation.
This was the first Swiss match we were to attend that didn't involve wunderbare Winti, who, incidently should be playing in the Swiss Cup Final as I write having been robbed by a ref who missed the clearest penalty you will ever see. But I digress (probably not for the first time in this one).
We arrived in Thun via Rafz. Its an out-of-the-way route but we have this I-Phone app called Swiss-Hiker where you collect places you visit a bit like Pokémon. Rafz, or somewhere near there was the last place we had to tick off in East Switzerland. Digressing again - see, I told you!
In any case, it was an easy journey, as they tend to be when you travel with Swiss railways and with a change in Zürich and a change in Bern, and we were in the beautiful town of Thun, just one stop down the main line from Bern.
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| How we knew tickets were available at the station |
Are you watching, English football! (and I bet it won't be the first time I say that!). We simply bought our match ticket from the ticket-corner office at the station on the day. Easy-peasy!
A 5 minute trip on a bus brought us to Arena Thun. Now, in the last Swiss 36 article, I mentioned security. It was evident again although I'd say this time they got it more right. The bus driver was protected from us by a sturdy door and a heavy duty perspex screen; and en route, we saw armoured cars and a water canon van.
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| Difficult to get good shots of the Thun Arena from outside |
I think I should say at this point that Switzerland does have a small hooliganism problem. Indeed this season saw the first Swiss league game abandoned due to crowd trouble. From what I am seeing, there seems to be an overwhelming desire to nip it in the bud before it gets hold. So, if I do seem to be complaining about excessive security, please think of it in this context. If it works and Swiss football does drive the idiots away, then well done everybody!
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| How cool is that?! |
At the ground, it was evident that Thun and YB fans were mixing freely with nothing but goodwill between them. Great to see and in contrast to the security.
As we entered the stadium, we were given our programme (generally free of charge at Swiss games) and this leaflet. For those of you who don't have decent German, what Thun are offering season-ticket holders is that their name be printed on the 1st team shirt. In other words they are acknowledging every individual fan as a sponsor. How cool is that! My hat is rightfully doffed. Are you watching, English football!
So now that we're inside, time for those all important scores!
Getting there
9/10 - Thun is a mainline station from most major towns in Switzerland. Buses run from right outside the station to the stadium. The journey is about 5 minutes.
Friendliness
7/10 - On this occasion we were with the home fans so saw it perhaps a little differently from the last game. We purchased a stitch-on FC Thun badge from the club shop and were given a couple of stickers by the shop when we explained our Swiss 36 mission. Security was there but not too obtrusive until, when we left, we were prevented from going directly to our bus by a line of RoboCops (see previous article). We simply walked around a nearby garage forecourt and onto the bus. Barmy in the extreme!
During the game, we found it difficult not to sing along with the home-fans, so we gave it a couple of choruses of "FC Winti - FCW". No problem. Smiling home fans.
Safety
2/10 - Oh My God! I really doubt if this ground would get a safety certificate for standing fans in England. In the photo, you see my leg showing the height of the step between standing terracing levels. It is 12"(30 cm). There is only one crush barrier on the terrace. Seriously, FC Thun. One day, somebody will fall down this terrace and be seriously hurt! It really needs seating or a crush barrier for each row to be installed.
Add to this the fences and you have something English fans see as a safety nightmare. I would score it 1 if I had seen more grounds first! Simply terrible!
View
6/10 - It was OK, though you had to go up the terracing to see properly due to fans hanging flags and banners on those terrible fences.
Price
24 SFr (£16) for a standing ticket. Very fair!
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| Sidebar: Have you ever seen lines as white as those! |
Atmosphere
7/10 - The Thun fans kept singing, as did the folk from Bern. Lots of noise, little animosity. It was a good Derby.
Refreshments
4/10 - Feldschlösschen Beer. The most widespread in Switzerland. It was a tad expensive too at 5 SFr (£3.33) for 33ml! I liked the cups though
Food - Had a nice Thuner-Wurst (sausage from Thun) and a Beer-Bretzel for the missus. Nothing special though and at 5 SFr for the Bretzel and 7 for the sausage, again on the pricey side.
Redeeming Feature
The setting of the stadium may be one of the best in the world, with the mountains all around. Then again, we are in Switzerland, so watch this space.
Unfortunately, this view was behind us throughout the game. The away fans, and fans on the right-hand side as we looked at it have this backdrop for the whole game.
Overall - 35/60
The Match
A good one for the neutrals. Young Boys came back twice to earn a 2:2 draw in front of just over 9000 fans.
A great move by Thun had the Young Boys looking as naive as their name suggests and Marco Schneuwly, scoring against his old club, finished well for Thun's first on 10 minutes. Young Boys then put Thun under pressure for a long period before the inevitable happened and I called it. As soon as the ball was swung onto the left flank to Canadian, Josh Simpson it was clear YB would score and it was Emmanuel Mayuka who smashed the ball into the net.
Against the run of play, the home side recovered their lead. Andreas Wittwer lost his marker and headed home. 2 : 1 to the home side at the break, but they were lucky to be leading.
In the second half, the Berners continued to pile on the pressure. Nicholas Schindelholz was adjudged to have brought down Moreno Costanzo in the 77th minute. I wasn't so sure, but was a long way off. In any case, it was an emphatic penalty from Christoph Spycher to level the tie.
2:2 was no less than Young Boys deserved and they probably went home feeling the more unlucky of the two sides.
A good one for the neutrals. Young Boys came back twice to earn a 2:2 draw in front of just over 9000 fans.
A great move by Thun had the Young Boys looking as naive as their name suggests and Marco Schneuwly, scoring against his old club, finished well for Thun's first on 10 minutes. Young Boys then put Thun under pressure for a long period before the inevitable happened and I called it. As soon as the ball was swung onto the left flank to Canadian, Josh Simpson it was clear YB would score and it was Emmanuel Mayuka who smashed the ball into the net.
Against the run of play, the home side recovered their lead. Andreas Wittwer lost his marker and headed home. 2 : 1 to the home side at the break, but they were lucky to be leading.
In the second half, the Berners continued to pile on the pressure. Nicholas Schindelholz was adjudged to have brought down Moreno Costanzo in the 77th minute. I wasn't so sure, but was a long way off. In any case, it was an emphatic penalty from Christoph Spycher to level the tie.
2:2 was no less than Young Boys deserved and they probably went home feeling the more unlucky of the two sides.
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