His move from promoted FC St. Pauli to the Premier League was a bold one. Now coach Fabian Hürzeler is upsetting the big clubs with Brighton & Hove Albion. And has already won his first award.
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- After leading St. Pauli to the Bundesliga, Fabian Hürzeler moved to Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer.
- He is the youngest coach in the history of the Premier League and has made a great start with Brighton & Hove Albion. On Friday, he was named Premier League Coach of the Month for August.
- Hürzeler, whose father comes from Schaffhausen, says: "Yes, we are little Brighton, but little Brighton can challenge the big boys and doesn't have to hide from anyone. We are working on this image."
- Club owner Tony Bloom, who made millions from poker and sports betting, is completely satisfied with the new coach's work: "I'm surprised at how quickly and how well he has settled in. It was a big step."
He is the youngest coach in the history of the Premier League and has got off to a flying start with Brighton & Hove Albion. The 31-year-old Fabian Hürzeler, who holds a Swiss as well as a German passport, has won over the Seagulls' fans in no time at all. And he has already won his first award.
On Friday, Hürzeler was named coach of the month for August in the Premier League. "A trophy is always nice because it's a confirmation of your work," he said in a video published on social media. "Not just my work, but the work of the whole club, my coaching colleagues and the players. Together you win trophies."
It is the reward for a start to the season that could hardly have been better. After three games under the former FC St. Pauli promotion coach, Brighton are third in the table with seven points and are aiming for a home win against promoted Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Hürzeler sees parallels with St. Pauli
The leap from Bundesliga 2 to the most attractive football league in the world was a big one, but Hürzeler sees parallels with St. Pauli in his new employer. "Just like there, we want to be successful in sporting terms and underline our ambitions in addition to representing our values," said Hürzeler, whose father comes from Schaffhausen, 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 boys and doesn't have to hide from anyone. We are working on this image."
With wins against Everton (3-0) and cup winners Manchester United (2-1) as well as the draw against Arsenal (1-1), this has worked well. Brighton now face a supposedly easier opponent in Ipswich. "I always have the same ambition - to go out on the pitch and show the basic things," emphasized the coach ahead of the home game. "Winning tackles, running more than the opposition and being quicker."
Increased expectations at Brighton
In Brighton, expectations have risen in recent years. Ten years ago, the Seagulls played in the second-tier Championship; now Europe is the declared goal. In the 2023/24 season, Brighton finished eleventh and missed out on European competition. The club made a big splash on the transfer market in the summer. According to reports, Brighton spent the equivalent of more than 230 million euros. Only Chelsea FC, which has been struggling for years, has surpassed this.
Hürzeler does not think that the pressure on him is growing as a result of the purchases. He is "someone who wants to achieve the maximum" anyway, he told the FAZ. "Accordingly, I put myself under the most pressure because I always try to be as successful as possible. I tend to see that 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 to Hamburg is that he has more tasks as manager at Brighton and sometimes has to delegate, reports Hürzeler. That's not always easy for him. "I'm someone who tries to leave little, actually nothing, to chance and to influence everything I can," says the 31-year-old, "and there were certain moments when I had to let go."
Even though Brighton missed out on the European target 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 build on that. I'm not going to come here and turn everything around 180 degrees. I will try to build on the basis, which is very good."
Club owner raves about the coach
Club owner Tony Bloom, who made 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 things to work out so well with Hürzeler right from the start.
"I'm surprised at how quickly and how well he has settled in. It was a big step," he told "The Athletic" magazine. "I'm just really pleased for him and the team and I'm excited to see what we can achieve not just this season but beyond." A win against Ipswich should be the next step.
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