On Tuesday, Fabian Hürzeler answered questions from the media for the first time as Brighton coach. Among other things, he outlined his style of play and gave himself a new nickname
Two and a half weeks after announcing his move to Brighton, Fabian Hürzeler officially introduced himself. Of course, his inaugural press conference was also about his age – at 31, he is the youngest head coach in the history of the Premier League. “I am a young man, but not a young coach. I have already gained experience,” said Hürzeler. Instead of talking about his age, he would much rather talk about his philosophy.
Even though he is now on the touchline in the “best league in the world”, he will not change his approach. “I will work here in exactly the same way as I did before,” explains the Texan-born manager. That’s why he wants to use his “friendly authority” to convince the players older than him of his ideas, just as he did at St. Pauli or Pipinsried.
In Brighton, Hürzeler will meet a team that can certainly adapt his style of play quickly. After all, he learned some of his philosophy from his predecessor Roberto de Zerbi, who moved to Marseille. However, Hürzeler is not a one-to-one copy, he emphasized. Nevertheless, his style should of course excite the fans just as much as in previous years. “We want to play soccer with intensity and be a team that nobody wants to play against,” says Hürzeler, explaining his concept.
Hürzeler thinks back to his visit last December
The new coach experienced for himself in December just how infectious the attractive style of play coupled with the support of the fans at the Amex can be. Back then, he was a guest at a Seagulls league game during his vacation. “I was a visitor, but during the game I became more and more of a supporter of the team. I ended up singing for them,” said the former St. Pauli coach.
Although he introduced himself as “the grounded one” in the style of José Mourinho and Jürgen Klopp, Hürzeler formulated an ambitious goal: “I want to achieve great things and challenge the establishment.” However, he did not go into detail about his expectations. “I want to discuss my goals with my players, they have to be convinced of them, they have to feel what we can achieve,” explained Hürzeler.
