Fabian Hürzeler’s career is like a fairy tale. Starting out as the “worst player” at FC Bayern, he is now shaking up the Premier League. In the “Phrasenmäher” podcast, the Brighton & Hove Albion coach gives unknown insights and explains what a bingo evening has in common with defeating Pep Guardiola.
He is the biggest German coaching shooting star and the youngest head coach in Premier League history. At 31, Fabian Hürzeler is shaking up the establishment in England with Brighton & Hove Albion and recently beat Pep Guardiola and champions Manchester City 2-1. With a club that invested more in transfers than Bayern (231 to 142 million euros) and has a higher market value than Dortmund (571 to 474 million euros).
In the football talk “Phrasenmäher”, the former St. Pauli promotion coach talks about his incredible career.
Whether a win against Pep feels different than a win in Elversberg
Hürzeler: “Of course a win against Pep is something special because he revolutionized football with his ideas and achieved something unique. It shows that we can challenge the establishment. But above all, I’m proud of my staff and the players.”
What telephone tips he got from Guardiola
Before his move from St. Pauli to Brighton for a fee of five million euros, Hürzeler spoke to Pep on the phone: “I have a motto and that is: You can look further on the shoulders of giants! I asked Pep what the key is to winning games in the Premier League. His answer was: You have to control your opponent’s switching behavior! That totally turned out to be true. His second message was: You have to keep developing your game idea. Pep is a master at this.”
What advice to him? Jurgen Klopp gab
Hürzeler: “For me, Jürgen is the best coach when it comes to creating an identity for a club and all employees. He described to me how consistently he acted and also made tough decisions – that was very revealing.”
How a bingo evening helped City win
Hürzeler: “A few days before the game, thanks to my assistant coach Jonas Scheuermann, we had a bingo night with the staff and employees – including the kitchen and the cleaning staff. These evenings are extremely important for me to understand the employees and make them feel that they are all part of the success.”
What hair secret he has in common with Klopp
When Hürzeler was introduced at Brighton, many fans noticed his new (thicker) hairstyle. He laughs: “In England I’m already being compared to Jürgen – which we can leave alone because he was much more successful and had a unique career. The only comparison that fits is that we both had our hair enhanced a bit…”
Why his father has more Instagram followers than him
Papa Markus Hürzeler is one of the world’s leading dentists for implant treatments. Followers: 42,000 – 3,500 more than his son. Fabian: “Many people think that I am the spoiled son of a dentist, which is not true at all. My parents always modeled that a positive obsession is the foundation for success. My father left the house at six in the morning and came home after eight in the evening. If you experience this every day, ten years later you don’t want to be the one who goes to work at nine and is back at four.”
Time out? Doesn’t know Hürzeler. During the winter break at St. Pauli he wanted to shadow Guardiola on his days off. In the summer he was with Uruguay’s national team under coaching legend Marcelo Bielsa: “I often hear the sentence: ‘You’re crazy!’ And you could also say that I’m obsessed – but I really enjoy doing it.”
Why he has the Bayern DNA in him
Hürzeler moved to FC Bayern’s youth team when he was eleven: “Back then I was the worst player in the whole club. I learned a lot from people like Matthias Sammer and Mehmet Scholl, who was my best coach. This Bayern winning gene is deeply anchored in me.”
Which motto connects him with Sammer
Sammer coined the phrase: “If I end up at the front, people can call me an asshole!”
Hürzeler: “I’m also someone who has actually heard that before (laughs). But I can endure it and want to be a winner who leads the way for his team.”
Why he lost his job as an art dealer
At 23, Hürzeler became player-coach at fourth division club FC Pipinsried and was sensationally promoted to the third division. At that time he was working part-time as an art dealer: “The most expensive picture I sold cost around 40,000 euros (a high-quality copy of the candle by Gerhard Richter/d.Red). At some point I lost my job because I was more and more concerned with football during working hours and art sales suffered.”
Did he know at the promotion party with St. Pauli that he was leaving?
Hürzeler allowed himself to be carried through the Millerntor on his hands. Did he know about Brighton’s interest? “No! The call didn’t come until a week and a half after the championship ceremony.”
Hürzeler was insulted as a “mercenary,” “hypocrite,” and “poor.” How much did that affect him? Hürzeler: “I would be lying if I said that it would pass you by without a trace because I did everything for the club. But I also understand the disappointment of the fans. I hope that I will still be welcomed with open arms when I return to the Millerntor.”
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