Chur do not enter 2038/39 loudly. They enter it deliberately. After last season’s fifth-place finish and qualification for the Europa Conference League, this summer has felt less like reinvention and more like refinement. Two themes have emerged from the friendlies: one shaped by circumstance, the other by clear tactical intent.

1. Ilan Tomic’s Injury May Be an Uncomfortable Blessing

A moderate calf strain, expected to sideline Ilan Tomic for six to eight weeks and rule him out beyond matchday one, would ordinarily trigger anxiety. For a side whose academy talisman scored relentlessly last year, any absence carries weight. Yet context matters.

There has been no formal bid from Young Boys despite strong interest earlier in the window. The noise surrounding a potential move intensified when their star midfielder Mehmet Erciyas completed a €14m transfer to Al-Ittihad, seemingly generating the financial headroom to test Chur’s resolve. Instead, the temperature has cooled. The injury has changed the optics. Tomic, deprived of pre-season match fitness, is no longer an immediate plug-and-play acquisition for any European rival. That lowers urgency externally and raises calm internally. Those close to the club sense relief rather than frustration from Iñaki Arriola. A summer defined by resisting bids may instead become one defined by continuity.

Crucially, Chur have not looked structurally dependent in his absence. Nenad Juric has led the line effectively in friendlies, offering vertical running and a willingness to shuttle in the defensive 4-2-2-2 shape that has appeared out of possession. There is optimism that, once fit, Tomic will not merely return to the same system but enhance a slightly evolved one.

If anything, this spell forces Chur to rehearse life without their focal point – a rehearsal that may make them less predictable when he returns.

2. Arriola’s Shape Is Subtly Changing – and Control Is the Goal

Publicly, nothing has been confirmed. But on the training pitches and in friendlies against OH Leuven and SC Heerenveen, a structural shift has been visible.

In attacking transition, the 4-2-3-1 remains intact. In defensive transition, the same references apply. But in settled phases, Chur have frequently morphed into a 3-2-2-3 – a box midfield structure designed for central control.

Bruno Darbellay has stepped confidently from centre-back into the pivot line, comfortable receiving under pressure and dictating tempo. Assongo, at right-back, has held his shape and tucked inside to form a back three with Orbaiz on the opposite side. It is less adventurous than last season’s wing-back thrust, but more stable.

Last year, Chur ranked near the bottom of the league for possession and pass completion – numbers comparable to Luzern’s. Too often, passes into midfield rebounded immediately. The 4-1-4-1 defensive block was compact but passive. Against sides unwilling to overcommit, Chur struggled to impose. Pre-season has told a different story. Possession figures have risen. Passing sequences have lengthened. There is more patience in the build-up, and more attackers positioned between lines. The interplay that led to Mauro Frey’s intricate pre-season goal and the greater involvement of Daniel Moreno and Jose Luis Sánchez in tight central exchanges; these are not incidental. It reflected structural intention.

There are trade-offs. Removing Alexandre Vayzendaz’s 11 assists from last season’s primary attacking outlet is significant. He has featured only as an alternative option rather than the default. Natural width on the right is reduced, and better-coached opponents may seek to exploit that narrowness. The box midfield invites congestion if circulation is too slow.

But the upside is clear: Chur now look capable of controlling games rather than merely reacting within them.

Defensively, the 4-2-2-2 shape out of possession – with Motta and Juric shuttling and closing while one forward remains higher to spearhead transitions – appears more proactive than last year’s passive 4-1-4-1. It suggests an understanding that, as a European side finishing fifth, Chur will increasingly face opponents who refuse to attack them recklessly. Intelligent pressing, not mere compactness, becomes the next evolutionary step.

One experimental selection offered further insight: Tidiane Diallo, ordinarily a centre-back, was deployed as a half-back in one friendly. The message seemed clear – Darbellay is central to the new architecture.

Pre-season rarely delivers certainty. But it can reveal direction.

Chur appear calmer about their star striker’s future and clearer about their tactical identity. The ambition is not dramatic acceleration, but consolidation and evolution – enjoying the Europa Conference League while remaining anchored in the top six domestically.

For a club intent on cementing philosophy rather than chasing headlines, that may be exactly the right lesson to take into August.