Who Is Fabian Hurzeler? Get to Know the New Brighton and Hove Albion Manager
Brighton & Hove Albion have been praised time and again for their incredible recruitment strategy at the Amex Stadium, and club chairman Tony Bloom might have just pulled another rabbit out of the hat with the appointment of the Premier League side’s new manager.
Things turned sour between Bloom and former boss Roberto De Zerbi at the land of last season, and the Italian left the Seagulls after their final game of the campaign after Manchester United following just under two seasons on the south coast.
Ex-Brighton manager Graham Potter was amongst those heavily linked with the vacant position. However, in typical Brighton fashion, the Seagulls board went left of field with their appointment with the lesser-known Fabian Hurzeler.
At just 31, Hurzeler is the youngest manager in Premier League history. Even several members of his playing squad at Brighton are older than him—most notably, English football veteran James Milner, who is 38.
The German is going to have his work cut out from the get-go, as there is no time to settle in at this level of the game. The Seagulls plummeted to 11th under De Zerbi last season, but Hurzeler offers fresh optimism for Brighton in the Premier League betting 24/25.
Having played at a largely lower level in his homeland, Hurzeler made the switch to management in 2016 when he took over FC Pipinsried. In his four years at the club, he helped them climb up to the fourth tier of German football, but they were quickly relegated back to the Bayernliga Sud.
In addition to his role as head coach at Pipinsried, Hurzeler was also the assistant manager for Germany’s under-18 and under-20 sides. It was in 2020 that he was made assistant to Timo Schultz at St. Pauli, while he also helped Eimsbutteler TV gain promotion to the fifth tier at the same time.
Hurzeler was appointed head coach of St. Pauli in December 2022, becoming the youngest manager in 2. Bundesliga at just 29, and he transformed Kiezkicker from a relegation-threatened side to second-tier champions, winning the 2. Bundesliga by a single point from Holstein Kiel last season.
St. Pauli’s quest to remain in the Bundesliga will have to go on without their exciting young manager, as his incredible work landed him the Brighton job.
Bloom deemed him the perfect candidate for the role due to his age and ability to work with young players. After all, Brighton have a good handful of players nominated for the prestigious Golden Boy award, including 19-year-old attacker Facundo Buonanotte.
It’s not just that which made him a hot commodity for the Brighton owner. Bloom likes his managers to play with his vision and philosophy, and Hurzeler fits the bills with his focus on playing out from the back with short goal kicks and a 3-4-3 formation.
There’s no doubt that his age is going to be under the microscope in the early days of the season, especially as Brighton face Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United in their first eight games.
But if Hurzeler can upset the Premiership odds and put together a good string of results in the first couple of months of the season, then those behind Brighton’s recruitment strategy will once again be left looking like modern-day geniuses.