FC Aarau is on a high. After nine wins in a row, the team from Aargau are top of the Challenge League table. However, CEO Sandro Burki does not want to formulate promotion as a goal.
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- Aarau are top of the Challenge League table. Brunello Iacopetta's team recently celebrated nine wins in a row.
- However, FCA managing director Sandro Burki does not want to proclaim promotion as a goal for the season: "At the start of the season, we set ourselves the goal of progressing, development is important. We're sticking to that."
- However, Aarau would be prepared for a possible promotion: "The initial preparations have of course been made, that's clear."
FC Aarau is the team of the moment in Swiss professional football. The team from Aargau have recently celebrated nine wins in a row in the Challenge League. In an interview with blue Sport, FCA managing director Sandro Burki says: "We know what football is like, at some point this streak will also come to an end."
The longest winning streaks in Challenge League history are currently held by Vaduz (August 2010 to December 2010) and Lugano (November 2010 to April 2011) with 12 full victories en suite. Aarau are not making it a priority within the club to scratch these records: "It would certainly be nice to get to these 12 wins, but it's not a goal this season," says Burki.
Thanks to nine wins in a row, FC Aarau have worked their way up to the top of the Challenge League table. First place would entitle them to direct promotion. The gap to Etoile Carouge in third place is already seven points.
The start to the season was anything but ideal, with Aarau even at the bottom of the table after six rounds. "It was important that we remained calm in the club during this time, that we didn't get nervous and feel that everything was going badly," Burki is certain, adding: "The other reason is that the coach, the whole staff and the players are doing a very good job."
Burki does not use the word promotion
Anyone who has such a winning streak and leads the table after 25 of 36 match days could set promotion as a goal, but Burki waves it off: "Theoretically, you could." However, the goal at the start of the season was to progress, and development is important: "We didn't stray from that when we were last and we're not straying from it now that we're top of the table," says the managing director.
At FC Aarau, the defense is currently the trump card. Not only for the team, which has recently scored four times in a row and conceded the fewest goals, but also for CEO Bürki. He has no intention of adjusting his goals, and even if Aarau were to fall out of the top two, he would not see the season as a disappointment: "What matters is that we analyze the season as a whole. Now we have a good phase, we had a difficult phase at the start of the season and now comes the last part." The conclusion will only be drawn at the end.
Planning for possible promotion underway
FC Aarau last played in the barrage for promotion to the Super League in 2019. After a 4:0 win away against Xamax, the Aargau side lost the home game at Brügglifeld 4:0 and then missed out on promotion in a penalty shoot-out. Is that the reason for the cautious target formulation? "No, not at all," laughs Burki. That was not taken into consideration. There was a major upheaval last summer, and that always takes time. That's why they set the goals for the things that are really important to them: "The rest will come naturally."
Should FC Aarau be promoted, however, they would definitely be ready for the Super League. "Of course, in our situation, we also have to plan for the Super League. A few things would certainly have to be done to the stadium and we would also have to be ready in terms of personnel to be able to cope."
Although the season is still long, FC Aarau are already planning on two tracks: "The initial preparations have of course been made, that's clear. It would be negligent if we did nothing and then didn't know what to do next." The euphoria in the city is already very noticeable: "Things always move relatively quickly in Aarau - in both directions." It's worlds apart when you compare the atmosphere at the start of the season with the current one. "It's extremely nice, the spectator numbers are also great. We're delighted that we can give something back to the region."
On Sunday, Aarau will face FC Wil away, the only team FCA has not yet won against this season: "A lot has to come together, as Wil is a good team that plays good football, especially at home," says Burki. Will Aarau manage to secure their tenth win in a row? The game can be seen live and exclusively on blue Sport on Sunday from 14:30.
