“Brighton in Hunt for Coaching Prodigy: Hurzeler, the ‘Nagelsmann in the Making,’ Charms Seagulls’ Fancy”.
Fabian Hürzeler is emerging as Germany’s next major coaching talent.
At 31, he has rapidly risen to fame, making a significant impact on German football. After guiding St. Pauli to the Bundesliga for the first time in over a decade, the USA-born coach is poised for great achievements.
His youth and quick rise in the coaching ranks have drawn comparisons to Julian Nagelsmann. Hürzeler’s next career move could be to the Premier League, with Brighton considering him a top candidate to replace Roberto de Zerbi.
Just how talented is Hürzeler?
Fabian Hürzeler, born in Houston, Texas to a German mother and Swiss father, was a German youth international but didn’t advance to the professional level. As a youth player at Bayern, he was a teammate of Emre Can and spent most of his time in Southern Germany. His coaching career began as a player-manager at Pipinsried, leading them to promotion to the regional semi-professional fourth tier in 2017.
He also worked with the DFB as an assistant coach for the German U20 and later U18 national teams. In 2020, Hürzeler became an assistant at St. Pauli, while still playing occasionally for Eimsbüttel. When Timo Schultz was sacked in late 2022, Hürzeler took over St. Pauli’s first team to avoid relegation. Under his leadership, the team won ten consecutive games, ultimately finishing fifth after a remarkable turnaround.
The following season, with a full pre-season and summer transfers, Hürzeler’s St. Pauli started strong in the 2. Bundesliga. Despite initial mixed results, they went undefeated until matchday 21 and secured promotion to the Bundesliga, their first since 2010/11. Tactics analyst Abel Meszaros praised Hürzeler’s attractive football style, comparing him to Roberto de Zerbi. Hürzeler emphasizes ball control, preferring clean sheets to high-scoring games and employing a short-passing build-up strategy.
Hürzeler transformed St. Pauli into a title-winning team and is seen as a potential future Premier League coach, with Brighton identifying him as a candidate to succeed De Zerbi. His fiery character and influences from coaches like Oliver Glasner, Gian Piero Gasperini, and Diego Simeone are notable. It’s only a matter of time before he takes the next step in his coaching career.
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