Inspired by De Zerbi – What Brighton fans can expect from Fabian Hürzeler

Led St Pauli to title 

Brighton have appointed Fabian Hürzeler as their new manager to replace Roberto De Zerbi. The Premier League club announced the deal as completed on Saturday. It’s been a protracted process since the enigmatic De Zerbi decided to seek pastures new but Hürzeler represents a fascinating and exciting replacement. 

Aged just 31, Hürzeler becomes the youngest permanent manager in English Premier League after Brighton and St Pauli reached an agreement over an acceptable ​​remuneration package. After curtailing his playing career at just 23, Hürzeler has developed his reputation as one of the most exciting young coaches in Europe and he led St Pauli to the 2.Bundesliga title last season to secure their return to the German top-flight for the first-time in 13 years. While Hürzeler’s mooted appointment will be viewed with an element of risk in some quarters, Brighton’s meticulous recruitment processes, which focus on data, have empowered the hierarchy into believing that they could’ve unearthed the next coaching prodigy in Hürzeler. 

Fabian Hürzeler’s coaching background

Hürzeler progressed through the youth ranks at Bayern Munich before featuring for Hoffenheim and 1860 Munich’s reserves but his move to fifth-tier side FC Pipinsried was the catalyst for his blossoming coaching career. Hürzeler took his steps into management at just 23 with Pipinsried and his coaching acumen earned him a role with the Germany U18s and U20s as an assistant before he joined St Pauli in a similar role in 2020. 

Hürzeler stepped up to become manager in December 2022 amid difficult circumstances after replacing the popular Tim Schultz but he made an immediate impact as St Pauli embarked on a ten-game winning run. In his first full season in charge at the Millerntor Stadium, Hürzeler defied the odds to lead St Pauli to the title despite competing against rivals with bigger budgets. St Pauli played in an attractive style with the second most possession in the league (57.4%) and Hürzeler implemented a supremely effective pressing style. They conceded the fewest goals in the league (39) and faced 70 fewer shots than other teams (291). While he honed his philosophy in Hamburg, Hürzeler attributes his understanding of the game to his upbringing at Bayern. 

“That time created my personality,” Hürzeler said in a recent interview with Transfermarkt. “I was there for like ten or 11 years, and at Bayern Munich, you always must win. You can’t imagine it. You are like ten or 11 years old, and you go to a tournament, and some people hate you, and some people love you, but one thing is always the same: as a Bayern Munich player, you always have to be successful. But you can’t just be successful; you also must play a certain way, a nice style of football. You not only have to be successful but also play a nice style of football. That’s what created my personality and my thinking of the style I want to play and having to deal with pressure. Deep in my heart and DNA, I want to have the ball and dominate the game.” 

Tremendous impact at St Pauli 

It’s difficult to underestimate the influence and impact that Hürzeler had at St Pauli. At the start of the 2.Bundelsiga season, few would’ve predicted St Pauli being crowned champions but they were outstanding and, as previously mentioned, Hürzeler’s initial appointment wasn’t met with widespread approval. As the graphic below shows, Hürzeler’s record at St Pauli is excellent and should provide a huge source of optimism to Brighton fans. 

Tobias Picker, German editor at Transfermarkt and St Pauli expert, said: “It’s important to mention how Hürzeler won the hearts of St. Pauli fans. It wasn’t easy for him at the beginning. His predecessor, Timo Schultz, whom he had previously assisted, was dismissed to the dismay of many fans. Schultz’s standing was so good that many fans would have even accepted failure to keep the club icon. Hürzeler was not very popular at first. That only came with his tremendous success. He set records in the 2. Bundesliga. For example, he won his first ten games. In his first twelve months in Hamburg, he lost only two games, and although there were five more league defeats in his last six months, they still secured promotion as league leaders quite comfortably. At the start of the season, this would have been nothing more than a dream. Regarding Hürzeler’s character, it’s particularly important to note that he is a really bad loser. He has often said this himself.”

Inspired by De Zerbi – Will Hurzeler be a success at Brighton?

The reaction to Hürzeler’s appointment has been mixed in England. There’s excitement that Brighton have enticed a brilliant young coach on an upward trajectory, but other cynics have questioned his relative inexperience, citing that he would become the youngest permanent manager in PL history – illustrated in the graphic below.

A fascinating subplot is that Hürzeler has been heavily influenced by former Brighton boss De Zerbi and his preferred 3-4-3 formation has been utilized by his impending predecessor. “It would be hard to find reasonable arguments why Hürzeler shouldn’t succeed in Brighton,” Picker added. “Of course, one could say that he might lack experience since he has only had one head coaching position in professional football. But that’s just speculation. On the contrary, the fact that Hürzeler would be the youngest coach in top-flight English football should be a huge motivation. And it will surely guarantee Brighton a lot of attention, while Hürzeler will likely continue much of what de Zerbi has shown on the pitch.

“Although he has always emphasized that he wants to develop his own style as a coach, he also revealed that he has taken quite a bit from Roberto de Zerbi’s work in Brighton. The same goes for Oliver Glasner from his time in Frankfurt. Hürzeler had his team play with a five-man defense and three forwards who would pull together with the two midfielders into a central block. This made it quite difficult for the opponent to build up play through the middle. The 5-2-3 or 3-4-3 system would then change if the opponent tried to attack via the wings. The attacking wingers would drop deeper and wider, forming a 5-4-1 that left little space for the opponent’s build-up. Conceding only 36 goals shows how tough this system was to break. A key factor, however, was the understanding Hürzeler instilled in the players for the need of defence. The players developed an enormous willingness to work defensively. After losing the ball, all players would contribute to the defence. Hürzeler revealed that they celebrated successful defensive actions in training to create awareness of the importance of defensive work, especially after losing possession.”