Who is the new Brighton manager?
Brighton. A small coastal city in the south of England. Famous for the laid-back quaint surroundings and warm hospitality of its tightly knit community- from its 1974 Eurovision hosting where a certain Swedish band called ABBA won and became a household name worldwide to Fatboy Slim dropping his beats from the DJ console; Brighton has always been a thriving city. The same can be said for the football club of the town- Brighton and Hove Albion.
30 years back, they didn’t even have a permanent home stadium and were on the verge of folding but the club did survive. If you had told locals 30 years back that their club would find a new permanent stadium, reach the promised lands of Premier League, survive against many odds in the top flight, and create a cutting-edge philosophy of running a club that will see them finish in European spots and the Seagulls will be off to Marseille, then to Amsterdam and even include Athens and Rome in the journey, and become self-sufficient in the process; they would have straight out laughed at your face. But all of this eventually happened. Most of this success has been achieved under the ownership of a local boy who made it big- Tony Bloom.
Meanwhile 1000 km. away, in a bustling neighborhood of Hamburg, a football club whose identity has been etched into being against the System and the Machine, standing for the right thing (sadly ‘right’ doesn’t apply to all topics if the last 9 months are to be considered)- being labeled as a ‘Kultclub’ by many (but the fan-base of the club detest this name). Punk rock-loving, Jolly Roger-waving of the club based in the Sankt Pauli district of Hamburg have, since the late 1980s been a trendsetter in not just in Hamburg and Germany, but across Europe. It was proactively taking a stand against the rising hooliganism in the footballing circuit and the close ties of the hooligans with neo-Nazi elements in the society. Collective actions taken from not just the fans but the entire community which saw the fanbase expand amidst a rising counter-culture in 1990s Hamburg- that attracted not just the new generation of supporters in native Germany but even from abroad. A club that never had “success” in its history found a new fan following for not just its football but for its social causes as well in a changing period of history where people were becoming more and more dissociated with football (and society in general) and found a safe space in St. Pauli.
Again, if you had told the locals 30 years back that their team would win promotion to the top flight, become Weltpokalsiegerbesieger (World Club Champion beaters), go down back to regional leagues, fight their way up again to the promised lands of Bundesliga, again go back down fighting and again reach to the top division, while doing all of this their way, they would have believed you at first instant. For such is the optimism and hardworking attitude the club has inculcated, deriving it from the city itself. MagischerFC.
FC St. Pauli recently won the promotion back to the Bundesliga, spearheaded by a 31-year-old up-and-coming German-American coach and a team made of ‘misfits’, who just fitted right at the club, at the right moment. Now, coming to the question of the hour
“Who the bloody hell that Fabian Hürzeler fella is?”
Fabian Hürzeler
Brighton and Hove Albion have, over the years, made a name for themselves by creating a cutting-edge advantage for themselves to survive in cut-throat competition and the riches that come with the Premier League; in terms of squad and club building driven by Mathematical modelling and Game Theory. The idea has been the brainchild of their owner- Tony Bloom. His success as a Poker player and then in the betting industry as a (calculated) risk taker has been emulated by his venture as an owner of his boyhood club as well. It takes guts (and well-drawn planning and risk auditing) to pick a relatively unknown manager from the Championship and stick with him even if results initially were not going their way. Then recruit from unknown markets and have a consistent hit rate in that, playing a brand of football that the big boys in the league play at a fraction of cost while turning record profits.
When all of that is torn apart, worry not. They remain relatively unaffected, take even more risky (but well-assessed) decisions and go one notch better when it comes to results. Ajax was Amsterdamned in the Europa League, then away trips to Marseille, Athens, and even Rome followed. Seagulls are now ready to make even longer trips.
Recruiting not just players, but even coaching and recruitment staff based on data modeling- their internal algorithm has hit yet another match, which lies in Hamburg. Departing Roberto de Zerbi will be replaced by Fabian Hürzeler, who 18 months back was just the assistant manager of FC St. Pauli and still learning the trade. But 18 months later, he helped the club earn a promotion to the Bundesliga, the first promotion after 2010 by playing a scintillating brand of football, which usually you don’t find in Germany generally (and that too in 2nd tier of football)- and also on the verge of becoming the youngest manager to manage in top tier of English football.
Ever since I started following the club (circa 2018- a period where I also became more politically and socially conscious during my undergraduate studies), I never expected that the club will not just win promotion back to the Bundesliga but bring something credible to the Big Boys table and that our coaches would be poached by an ENGLISH FUCKING PREMIER LEAGUE club. And in the process, leave the city rivals behind rotting in the 2nd division.
So, what makes the coach so unique that Brighton is ready to take a risk on him, which seems a risk way too risky even by their standards?
Background
Born in Houston to German-Swiss parents, Fabian Hürzeler grew up in Freiburg and later Munich. He joined the youth setup of Bayern Munich, playing at all youth levels of football for Bayern Munich (even appearing from all youth levels till U19 level for Germany) and later turning professional as well. Playing in the reserve sides of the club, he never could break into the first team of Bayern Munich, and then injuries also started to curtail his career.
But he was studying for a sports management degree side by side and even started preparing for his coaching badges by the time he completed his management degree. Released by Bayern Munich, he further played for the reserve’s side of 1860 München and TSG Hoffenheim.
In 2016, he dropped further down the divisions to become player cum manager of FC Pipinsried, a position which he held till 2020. During this period, he also worked to further his coaching acumen- working with the German FA (DFB) and was a co-trainer with both U18s and U20s sides.
In 2020, he was appointed as assistant manager of FC St. Pauli alongside another talented German-French coach Loic Fave, and both working under the tutelage of an icon among the fanbase of the club, Timo Schultz who took over as manager alongside a new Sporting Director- Andreas Bornemann. A shift in playing style occurred and so did a shift in player recruitment.
The start was not a great one. A first-round exit to fourth-tier side SV Elversberg was eventually converted in a club-record 12-match winless streak. The coaching team was also alternating with a tactical skeleton between a 3–4–1–2/3–4–3 and 4–2–3–1 but still couldn’t find the right balance. A crucial win against an in-form Hannover side eventually saved the job. 13 wins in the remaining matches resulted in a once relegation-threatened team climbing its way into the top half of the table.
The new coaching and recruitment team eventually delivered results in the 2021–22 season with the club fighting for a promotion push but a drop-off in later stages meant that the club missed out on a promotion.
The 2022–23 season started positively but a major drop in results (despite underlying numbers being so good that the club actually should have been in the top 3 places but in reality, was getting pushed into a relegation fight) meant that Timo Schultz was let go (and even Loic Fave and other coaching staff) by the Sporting Director. But surprisingly to many on the outside, Fabian Hürzeler was kept at the club and given the keys to steer away the ship. A brilliant 2nd half of the season (post World Cup 2022) meant that St. Pauli finished from 16th place to a high of 4th place during the season and eventually ended the season with 5th place and an exciting brand of football, a complete shift from the tactics and playing style implemented by Timo Schultz.
In the sections below, I will try to break down the playing style that Fabian Hürzeler implemented as a permanent manager but also give a look at the playing style under Timo Schultz, given it was Fabian Hürzeler who was working up close with the players and involved up close in day-to-day training sessions, to draw up a picture of his tactical flexibility and great in-game management- will try to include statistical input and data visualizations wherever possible (data- courtesy of Opta, Fbref and Whoscored)
FC St. Pauli under Timo Schultz and co. (2020–2022)
Timo Schultz and co. initially alternated between a 3–4–1–2/3–4–3 shape (which will be used again in the future) and 4–2–3–1. A team made of academy youngsters, clever loan deals (the fact that Viktor Gyokeres and Leo Ostigard played at FC St. Pauli before they exploded on the scene is a green flag in itself when it comes to recruitment of FC St. Pauli in recent years), and experienced players- crème de la crème being Guido Burgstaller- his last hurrah in Germany.
An expansive direct playing style with bombarding fullbacks, a work-horse-oriented midfield setup, with a very rigorous man-to-man oriented pressing scheme high up the pitch to create turnovers as a primary way of creating chances, left various gaps in midfield and next to zero cover for already under-pressure defensive unit, which meant conceding a lot of transitions and this was reflecting in the results as well.
Halfway into the season, the coaching team changed the shape into a 4–4–2 diamond which was able to fix the issue of midfield getting overrun. Another loan signing of a then relatively unknown Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Zalazar acted as a catalyst for this up-tick in form with an instant impact as an all-action midfield playing in advanced positions.
The 2020–21 season was salvaged and again clever recruitment, this time from lower divisions helped a lot, credits to Bornemann. Daniel Kofi-Gyereh, Jakov Medic. Leart Paqarada joined the ranks with recruitment from abroad also coming in handy- Afeez Aremu, Jackson Irvine, Eric Smith and Nikola Vasilij. Even clever pick-ups from relegated Bundesliga sides (for example- Marcel Hartel came from Arminia Bielefield)
With a defined playing style and players also capable of playing this kind of narrow-ish high pressing, direct, and very vertical brand of football focused on creating transitions with primary chance creation coming from creating turnovers and secondary source being the use of fullbacks (especially the left-back- Kosovan international Leart Paqarada).
One unique thing was the low number of defensive duels contested (15th out of 18 teams) but the highest success rate (65.7%) during this season. Club was at one point towards winning a promotion back to the Bundesliga but that challenge couldn’t be accomplished. (Because just like the English Championship- the 2nd tier, 2. Bundesliga is very competitive when it comes to promotion fight. The fact that a side like HSV, St. Pauli’s city rivals has struggled over the years to get promoted despite having a far bigger budget and better resources when it comes to coaches, academy, and players). And in DFB Pokal as well, amazing results followed- the highlight being a 2–1 victory against Borussia Dortmund with Jakov Medic keeping Erling Haaland locked down and nullifying his threat.
The 2022–23 season started well with exits as well as new additions but there was again a poor run of results which left the club in relegation places just before the league stopped in late October/November 2022- for the World Cup. This time, with internal consultations, Sporting director- Andreas Bornemann pulled the plug on Timo Schultz’s reign as FC St. Pauli manager, his time at the club since 2005 (first as a player and then as a youth coach, reserves coach, Co-trainer of first team and then first team manager) coming to an end.
Fabian Hürzeler was kept hold of while most of the coaching staff close to Timo Schultz was let go. The American was valued a lot internally for his work on the training pitch. It saw him get rewarded with his first role as a professional manager, thus becoming the youngest manager in the German professional footballing pyramid in November 2022.
Fabian Hürzeler (2022-present)
2022–23 second half
The first half of the 2022–23 season under Timo Schultz and the second half of the season under Fabian Hürzeler were polar opposites of each other. The fact that a coach this young who didn’t have managerial experience at professional level was able to steer everyone together, manage the egos of more experienced heads in the playing squad, coaching staff, and administrative staff is commendable stuff.
Many (including me as well, at that time) all thought that this sudden uptick in form was what you casually call a ‘new coach bounce’. But 6 months was more than enough to conclude that something special was brewing in the background and St. Pauli had struck gold with Fabian Hürzeler.
During the first half of the 2022–23 season, St. Pauli was trying to shift to a more patient possession and deep build-up-oriented football with the kind of players they had accumulated in defense and the GK department. Vasilij’s ball playing ability as well as his great shot stopping was a plus in shifting towards this type of approach. And then footballing IQ and tactical flexibility of having a midfielder like Eric Smith helped to play him as a lone DM, who started dropping deep between the center-backs who pushed wide, allowing full-backs to have further freedom to bombard the flanks during build-up from the first phase to the second phase. The Swedish then joined the pressing scheme as a ball-winning midfielder to create a +1 in midfield with more box-to-box oriented Jackson Irvine and Marcel Hartel pressing further up the pitch.
The problem was that this approach was new and the club was going through a rough patch in terms of results (despite underlying numbers showing that this approach was starting to work). But sadly, this sport is very cut-throat at times. So, Timo Schultz was shown the door, and eventually, Hürzeler picked up from where the previous manager left.
A hybrid 3–4–3/4–3–3 shape alteration in and out of possession with Eric Smith playing as the outlier- a defensive midfielder dropping deep between the lines, during possession and then again getting ahead to screen the defense out of possession so that the narrow front 3 of wingers and striker plus 2 midfielders- one all action midfield orchestrator (Marcel Hartel) and one more box-to-box oriented/box-crashing, tenacious in terms of winning defensive duels (captain of the team- Jackson Irvine) joining a hybrid pressing scheme (a mix of man-to-man and zonal pressing to restrict not just transitions but even build-up play of opposition).
This pressing scheme was not very intense as seen in the previous regime and not implemented with the aim of winning the ball high up the pitch to create turnovers solely as a way of chance creation. The team sat in a mid-block and didn’t pounce on the ball at first instant. The team during this period allowed an average of 9.45 opposition passes per defensive action (a statistical method derived for quantifying the way of measuring ‘pressure’). The lesser the number, the more intense the pressing. The focus was more on blocking the passing lanes, so more interceptions rather than going head on in terms of winning duels.
Fullbacks also were instructed not to stay wide and hug the line when the team had possession but rather one fullback was instructed to stay closer when the ball was in his zone of play, to have more options for passing while the fullback opposite was instructed to stay wider so that classic old is gold chance creation technique through switching flanks and using wing-play.
St. Pauli under Fabian Hürzeler started relying on set pieces as an additional source of chance creation and goals. Having a set piece ‘hacks’ like Jackson AIRvine and Jakov Medic helped a lot to churn out results when the primary approach of tactic wasn’t delivering results, a good sign of Fabian Hürzeler’s in-game management to be flexible and play to strengths of the players at his behest. The coach learned from the present surroundings and started to implement this methodology more and more as the games went by. During his tenure, St. Pauli scored 3rd most goals from the set pieces and conceded the least goals as well. Effective on both ends.
However, one weakness that rose was against better opposition who had good strength in the attacking department, which did trouble this build-up approach or even teams that sat deep (or in a mid-block) and relied on hitting the team on the counter once possession was won. The in-possession shape of 3–1–6 was compensated with Eric Smith (like I have mentioned before) pushing ahead to come into midfield to add an extra body in midfield and become even narrower when out of possession, to avoid conceding transitions and ‘effectively’ cover extra ground without major burnout across entire team, an out of possession approach which is becoming more common across top level of football given humongous amount of games being played at an intensity level never seen before in the history of this sport.
2023–24 season
A new season beckoned with a proper pre-season training camp and friendlies under the new manager. This saw the primary tactic being implemented to perfection. New additions to the squad, with the same approach of finding raw diamonds from lower leagues and abroad clicked. Young wingers- Tunisian Elias Saad and Nigerian Dapo Afolayan, Greek international and right back Manolas Salaikas, and former Germany U19 international Phillip Treu. Experienced center backs in Estonian international Karol Mets and German Hauke Wahl came from the same level of sides as that of FC St. Pauli- made up the core of the team.
But there was still a gap in the ideal starting XI for Hürzeler’s side, a consistent outlet or two for goals. So, the next target was to get upgrades on ST and RW but the options brought in suffered from injury scares so the initial issue of getting goals out of this squad was again looming when the season kicked in.
Dapo Afolayan (the English-Nigerian player’s career story itself is very inspiring) and Elias Saad’s ability to take on defenders consistently and with a good success rate helped to pitch in with goals and assists as well. The biggest success of the attacking set-up and Hürzeler’s man-management has to be the resurgence of Jonathan Eggestein. JoJo (Eggestein’s) Bizzare Adventures helped to pitch in with many results-altering goals during the first half of the season. Not an out-and-out #9, not an out-and-out #10 but his ability to drop deep between the lines and then also be adept at attacking the box with late runs to get on the back of cutbacks and crosses from deep helped the entire attacking line to click as well.
One thing that was a slight improvement from the previous season was the team’s insistence on keeping possession as a way of keeping defense tight and goals flowing in. A high-risk-high reward approach but with a higher ceiling and threshold. Since Hürzeler assumed control in early 2023, there has been a remarkable improvement, with the team now conceding only 0.80 goals per game. This defensive solidity can be attributed to strategic adjustments implemented by Hürzeler.
Moreover, to strengthen the defensive organization and midfield, which the club’s performance, as well as recruitment department, also identified as a potential outlier to the approach (and keep a promotion push on full gas), the club again turned to clever ways of finding youngsters with high potential, able to deliver an instant impact (but unable to get game time at top division clubs) on a low cost- signing Union Berlin’s German youth international, defensive midfielder Aljoscha Kemelin on loan. And an instant impact he did deliver.
This time, and for the third time lucky- promotion was achieved. And not just promotion, but 2. Bundesliga trophy as well. And the icing on the cake, HSV was again unable to win promotion. For the first time in history, St. Pauli actually can say that they own the city’s bragging rights as the better club.
A dream was finally achieved under Fabian Hürzeler’s management. In a very short time, he will definitely go down as a fan favorite, an icon even for many. The fact that his high-risk, high-reward approach which you usually find at top division clubs, that too with far better resources (more in England, France, Italy, and Spain, less in Germany) was implemented to perfection in a very short time. Then his in-game man management to micro-manage, analyze every possible detail but still keep scope for individual brilliance to happen and for players to flourish saw an uptick in the form of so many players. Elias Saad was playing in regional leagues and became a Bundesliga-ready winger, the same story for Dapo Afolayan. Eric Smith became a Swedish international after being a nomadic midfielder. Jackson Irvine and Marcel Hartel who were too good for the 2nd Division but not good enough for the Top division did reject approaches from Bundesliga clubs to stay put with St. Pauli. All of this brought attention from all over Europe (not just Germany), not just the club’s social image got the attention but its football got the attention as well.
As the media latched on to the magic brewing in Hamburg, even clubs started taking notice of players (and even manager plus coaches). Now, we are at a stage where Fabian Hürzeler is about to manage in the bloody Premier League for crying out loud’s sake. Not even the Bundesliga but straight to the Premier League, from 2. Bundesliga. Thereby, becoming the youngest-ever manager to take a position on the sidelines.
Summary
If I need to summarize the journey of Fabian Hürzeler and his coaching plus management philosophy, all I can say is this:
Brighton (as always) have done their homework. Of course, I will be very biased in saying the move is too soon (don’t let this dream run end please!!) but his man-management and tactical flexibility have the “potential” to translate very well to top-flight football easily.
- Not fixed to just a single way of playing football. Very adept at changing formations and tactical instructions according to the demands. This is one thing that has become a MUST-have at top-level football management. Proactive rather than reactive.
- Flexible with inculcating youth and experience. Ability to work well with a Sporting Director + Recruitment Team and Performance department to analyze shortcomings. Then collectively working together to fix them.
- His experience as a player in the Bayern Munich system and then at Hoffenheim (as a player while studying for coaching badges plus a sports management degree side by side) reflects in his coaching and basic tactical identity.
- Has a fiery personality and a charisma or aura around him which helps to put everyone behind him and on the same page. Again, an important trait to have in any manager at any level of football management.
- Culturally as well, he is a brilliant fit. Has worked at a club with an international outlook and progressive values. Coming from a city with the same mindset and then going to a city with a similar mindset and a very open-minded community and a club with again, a similar international outlook. Breaking the barriers when it comes to recruitment. Not relying on the age-old stereotypes that marred scouting for many years in football (sadly even in this age, it happens)
If you want me to break down the game-play of St. Pauli under Fabian Hürzeler in layman’s terms (and use examples of other manager’s playing styles on a very rough, macro level),
- The attacking trio (plus fullbacks in the final third) in and out of possession operate somewhat in similar fashion to how Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso lined up. And we know this story very well. The coincidence that this happened in tandem in different leagues in the same country.
- Midfield two in and out of possession operates a lot like how Arne Slot’s Feyenoord operated (who has also joined Liverpool- in case you want to read about him)
- Back 3 (plus fullbacks in the first and second phase), especially with how Eric Smith operated in and out of possession has given me a very good impression, similar to how Ruben Amorim’s Sporting CP side sets up defensively, who also make one of their center back drop into midfield to avoid getting overrun in the center of the pitch. Even the swift change of flanks using wing play roughly resembles how direct and quick these transitions have been under the Portuguese manager, albeit St. Pauli is more patient in creating these situations.
(All three managers were on the radar of Liverpool- yet another club with a very good record with data modeling to dictate their footballing decisions with a great hit rate. And knowing Brighton, they just don’t rely on thorough background checks but data as well, especially when it is a personal project of their owner)
Even the example of Oliver Glasner is there with us, whose Eintracht Frankfurt side was known for playing a very direct, vertical brand of football, quick on creating transitions. But with Crystal Palace, he adapted as well given more flexibility in terms of resources available and even he has started focusing more on the possession aspect of the game, not going for his previous approach which saw him win the UEFA Europa League against Rangers (Vielen Dank, for saving humanity. A thousand times over).
The things where Roberto de Zerbi and Brighton’s management disagreed (de Zerbi wanting to go for instant success no matter the financial cost while Brighton’s management wanted to continue with their long-term approach of being self-sufficient and success coming this way), Fabian Hürzeler’s coaching and man-management philosophy sits far more comfortable with this. The reason Brighton had Vincent Kompany and Kieran McKenna also as targets to replace the departing Italian stallion, who also have been very good match data plus tactical plus cultural fitment wise. Players were being recruited to fit into a specific playing style, now it’s the time that managers (or head coaches I should say) are shortlisted and appointed in such a way that there is no break in terms of playing style and they act as a head coach (rather than a know it all “manager”)- having a sphere of influence just around the playing squad and pitch and more flexible in working with other people appointed for their skills- recruitment, performance analysis etc.
Brighton under Fabian Hürzeler- possible combinations
While a period of 18 months as first team Manager (in which Hürzeler was able to complete his UEFA Pro coaching badges this calendar year) and then previous experience as Assistant Manager, with sole focus on individual one-to-one training with players for 2.5 years (and previous experience also as player-manager, where he was tasked with managing ego of senior people, just like at St. Pauli), there is enough evidence that for a basic foundation, the German-American manager goes for a 4–2–3–1/4–3–3 shape. The shape that De Zerbi has also opted for and Graham Potter as well (albeit being very flexible in his formations, flexibility which even Hürzeler has shown).
Brighton has the goalkeepers, center-backs, and full-backs who meet the playing demands of Fabian Hürzeler already. One player who I predict that may see a resurgence under Hürzeler is Tariq Lamptey and even Valentin Barco may be able to have a breakthrough season.
In the midfield department, the role emulated by Eric Smith- hypothetically I can see Billy Gilmour doing it. Pascal Gross (if Brighton can hold him) can act as an all-action midfield orchestrator with James Milner/Jakub Moder/Carlos Baleba acting as box crashers. Brighton will need to recruit well in midfield given they already looked short of bodies in this department and that it’s the midfield dynamics that made St. Pauli tick.
In the attacking department as well, I feel they are sorted as of now, they have wingers who fit the profile that Fabian has gone with at St. Pauli. For the striker department, Joao Pedro’s profile will sit well with the young coach. Then you have an experienced head in Danny Welbeck plus a youngster in Evan Ferguson, both of them who offer something else and can be used well depending on the game state.
One thing that is to be considered is that while Fabian Hürzeler’s tactics can be translated easily to a better league, with better players- his tactics can net even better results but then the teams he faced as opposition, even the level of opposition will also scale up. And then comes the managerial dynamics of managing egos, and expectations, handling pressure, and delivering results under this. Will that scale up? Yes, the potential is there and early signs also are there but then we will need to wait and watch only. The cracking of numbers and background checks, the experts have done it so we can just see this journey pan out from the spectator seat.
This game can never be perfected, it’s just that we can smoothen the rough edges to the best possible ability using external tools and bring some stability to the chaotic nature of this sport. But chaos will remain, one who is adept at taming the chaos by being one with it (and not losing control over themselves and their surroundings in the chaos) can go far in this sport- may it be players or managers.
Brighton has somehow managed to quantify this aspect, analyze it to the best accuracy and efficiency, and has had great success for a club of their stature (no disrespect meant here) in such a short time. Maybe it’s Tony Bloom’s world and we are all just living in it and seeing his masterclass in 4K UHD.
As I have emphasized before, this move feels like a major risk, even for a major risk-taking club like Brighton. But they have done their homework so this may be yet another calculated gamble that can net positive results. Time will tell the rest of the story.
(Image credits- Getty)
(Data credits- Opta, Fbref, Whoscored)
