He is the youngest coach in the history of the Premier League and has made a perfect start with Brighton & Hove Albion. 31-year-old Fabian Hürzeler has won over the Seagulls’ fans after just a short time. After three games under the former FC St. Pauli promotion coach, Brighton are in third place in the table with seven points and are aiming for a home win against newly promoted Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Hürzeler sees parallels to St. Pauli in Brighton
The jump from the 2nd Bundesliga to England’s top flight was a big one, but Hürzeler sees parallels with St. Pauli in his new employer. “Similar to them, we want to be successful in sports, in addition to representing our values, and underline our ambitions,” he said in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”. “That we do justice to our fans: Yes, we are little Brighton, but little Brighton can challenge the big ones and doesn’t have to hide from anyone. We are working on this image.”
This worked out well with victories at Everton FC (3:0) and against cup winners Manchester United (2:1) as well as a draw against runners-up Arsenal (1:1). Brighton will face a supposedly easier opponent in Ipswich. “I always have the same goal – to go out on the pitch and show the basic things,” emphasised the coach before the home game. “Win tackles, run more than the opponent and be faster.”
Increased expectations in Brighton
In Brighton, expectations have risen in recent years. Ten years ago, the Seagulls played in the second-tier Championship, but now Europe is the declared goal. In the 2023/24 season, Brighton missed out on European competition, finishing eleventh. In the summer, the club made a big splash on the transfer market. Brighton reportedly spent the equivalent of more than 230 million euros. Only Chelsea, who have been struggling for years, have exceeded that.
Hürzeler does not believe that the purchases are increasing the pressure on him. He is “someone who wants to achieve the maximum,” he told the “FAZ”. “Accordingly, I put the most pressure on myself because I always try to be as successful as possible. I rather see that the club owner Tony Bloom has clearly underlined his ambitions. He is ambitious, the whole club is ambitious.”
Hürzeler has to “let go sometimes”
What is different from Hamburg: At Brighton, he has more tasks as a manager and sometimes has to delegate, said Hürzeler. That is not always easy for him. “I am someone who tries to leave little, actually nothing, to chance and to influence everything that I can influence,” said the 31-year-old, “and there were certain moments when I had to let go.”
Even though Brighton missed the European goal under his predecessor Roberto De Zerbi, who left the club after just one season, Hürzeler believes the Seagulls are on the right track. “An extremely successful foundation has been built here in recent years,” he said. “We want to continue to drive this forward. I’m not coming here and turning everything 180 degrees. I’m going to try to build on the basis, which is very good.”
Club owner raves about coach
Club owner Bloom, who earned millions from poker and sports betting, is known for selecting his players and coaches based on data analysis. However, the 54-year-old did not expect that things would work out so well with Hürzeler right from the start.
“I’m surprised how quickly and how well he’s settled in. It was a big step,” he told The Athletic magazine. “I’m just really happy for him and the team and I’m excited about what we can achieve not only this season but also beyond.” A win against Ipswich should be the next step.
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