Fabian Hürzeler stated he will be a ‘friendly authority’ at Brighton & Hove Albion as his unveiling as the club’s new manager saw him make a strong early impression.
The 31-year-old, whose appointment in June made him the youngest manager in Premier League history, drew a great crowd at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre as he was finally revealed after joining from 2. Bundesliga side St. Pauli.
In a wide-ranging hour of questions and answers, the new Seagulls head coach touched on his philosophy, age and initial contact with various members of the squad.
He was joined by chairman Tony Bloom, chief executive officer Paul Barber and technical director David Weir, all of whom were in good spirits and made all the right noises about their chosen man.
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‘I call myself the friendly authority’
Hürzeler began the press conference with all the usual formalities, but when asked about his approach to management, the special something that saw Brighton take a risk on him became apparent.
Despite having only managed St. Pauli for 18 months, Hürzeler has previous experience from being an assistant head coach with the Germany national team’s under-18 and under-20 sides, as well as being a player-manager in the fourth and fifth tiers of German football with FC Pipinsried.
With eight years of coaching experience under his belt, the Houston-born German was clear about his approach.
Hürzeler said: “I call myself the friendly authority.
“Football is my passion and I try to convince the players by using the power of the ideas.
“I want to value every player, I want to improve every player together with my coaching team. That's my leading style.”
Hürzeler also touched upon how important the senior players in his squad will be, as regardless of age – Lewis Dunk, Pascal Groß, Joël Veltman, James Milner, Danny Welbeck and Jason Steele are all older than their new manager – he will expect to talk through ideas with them.
The 31-year-old assuaged fears that he would struggle to impose himself amongst the senior players, however.
“I will try to give them time to speak with me and I will also say to them that I will listen to their opinion. I think that's what's important.
“I'm not the leader from above, but in the end, they have to know that I'm the guy who makes decisions and I'm the guy who makes hard decisions.
"That's why I call it on one side friendly because there will be part of my of my leading style that will they will be able to say their opinions, but on the other side I will make the decisions and that's why I am a friendly authority.”
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Bringing a fresh feel to the club
Beyond his excellent coaching repertoire, Hürzeler also stood out to Brighton this summer due to his amiability and, as many outsiders looking in would have it, his superior ability to work within the club model when compared with his predecessor Roberto De Zerbi.
The German spent much time in his unveiling praising the club’s set-up and the individuals involved in delivering a clear footballing ideology.
Hürzeler said: “I really like the DNA, the philosophy of the club. The very analytical and data-based approach is special.
“The history was impressive, what they achieved in the past, and I liked the style that they want to play. It's always with courage. Me and my team, we will try to continue this,” the German added.
While predecessors De Zerbi and Graham Potter were cut from the same cloth as Hürzeler in their dedication to slick passing football and a sustainable transfer model, the Houston-born boss hails from a very different background to both, having learned his trade at a huge club in Bayern Munich during his playing days, and then served in a national team set-up as well.
Hürzeler has previously praised the impact of schooling in Munich on his managerial qualities, and been very honest about the need to retire as a player aged 23 when he realised he would not be able to progress much beyond player for reserve sides Bayern Munich II, 1899 Hoffenheim II and 1860 Munich II.
When asked what impact this had on him as a person and what he intended to bring to Brighton in terms of personality, the 31-year-old was again very honest.
Hürzeler said: “I would say I'm the grounded one.
“Staying humble is a very big value for me, then I think I'm a worker. So I try to work a lot with my team, with my coaching staff and on top of that, I think I'm a believer, and I believe in in achieving big things. I don't like doubts. I don't like having doubters around me.
“So I try to bring a good culture [and] positive energy in this building. And hopefully, I can have an impact on the others because everyone here in this building has an impact on the others [and] how we behave.
“That's why I like to have people giving me energy around me, that they don't take energy out of me and that's very important and I try to give energy to all of them.”
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‘The least risk option’
When the questions turned to the man behind the decision to appoint Hürzeler, chairman Tony Bloom made plenty of confident noises about the call to hand such a young manager the keys to the first team.
Bloom has been chairman since 2009 and has seen nine different managers take charge of the side during his time.
This appointment was explained as a different process to previous bosses due to having the entire summer to assess applications, and despite the outcome being a left-field appointment, Bloom rejected calls that it was a risk.
Bloom said: “I wouldn't talk about it as a gamble at all. We look at everything, we put a lot of effort and work into any head coach appointment as other clubs do.
“We think Fabian is the best fit for the football club. We think it's the least risk option of all the options that we had.”
While it was not divulged what kind of risk Bloom and Barber had been assessing in their managerial search – whether that be financial, in terms of squad stability or character-wise – it can be understood that a factor in the process had been finding someone more amenable than the outspoken De Zerbi.
The Italian’s relationship with the Brighton board is known to have been strained throughout the second half of the 2023-24 season, ultimately seeing the two sides part ways and De Zerbi now move on to a new role at Marseille.
Bloom was also keen to move on from the saga, saying: “We're always very confident in the way we do things.
“There are no regrets at all about bringing Roberto in; we had two superb years, particularly the season before last when we finished sixth, in our highest-ever position. So we're always looking forward, we're always looking to re-evaluate the way we look at every part of football, and that includes recruitment of the head coaches.
“So we're very happy with that appointment. And we’re even more happy to have Fabian here by my side.”
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Becoming a Brighton fan
After being revealed a few weeks ago by the club itself, a major talking point of the unveiling was Hürzeler’s experience watching Brighton’s spectacular 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur in person last December.
The German revealed that he had used the winter break in the 2. Bundesliga to tour England with some friends, with one of his stops coming at the Amex Stadium for an electric contest.
“I went here for my winter vacation and I travelled with some friends going through the UK and watching different Premier League games,” Hürzeler said.
“We were here at the Amex and I really loved the atmosphere. I loved the crowd. I loved the feeling they had for their team.
“They tried to push them when there were hard situations in the game. They supported them for 90 minutes, so I had a really confident feeling. And I was not a visitor, I felt myself during the 90 minutes I became more and more a supporter of the team. So I was cheering for them in the end!
“It was a great feeling. A great experience. So I'm really looking forward to seeing the fans, to work together with them, to celebrate hopefully a lot of wins. And I'm looking forward to the atmosphere at the Amex.”
