Fabian Hurzeler interview: ‘When I get criticised, I get criticised in the right way’

“Spending time with him and speaking about football, this is so valuable because he’s that guy doing old-school things but still in a modern way,” says Fabian Hurzeler of a blossoming relationship with a perhaps unexpected new confidante.

Over the summer, the Brighton & Hove Albion head coach sat down and picked the brain of Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti. It was a crucial learning experience for the 33-year-old.

“The main bit he emphasises is the connection towards people, towards his players and his staff. The calmness he spreads. ‘I know what I’m doing, trust me’. I want to be connected with everyone. So, that was really interesting.”

Hurzeler is reflecting on two conversations in recent months with one of football’s most revered managers during an exclusive interview with The Athletic, as the German prepares for a third season working in the Premier League.

The first meeting with Ancelotti, on a Zoom call last season, was set up by the Italian’s son, Davide. Carlo Ancelotti was at home in Vancouver, smoking a cigarette, an image in keeping with the laid-back demeanour of the 67-year-old on the touchline during successful spells with many of the biggest names in Europe, including Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Ancelotti led Brazil to the last 16 of the World Cup, where they lost to Norway (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

“He was unbelievably open,” Hurzeler says. “He spent so much time with me. He asked me questions. We had a long chat and then he said, ‘If you are at the World Cup, come to our camp’.”

Logistical complications meant Hurzeler’s plans to watch some of Ancelotti’s training sessions with Brazil had to be abandoned. “We met in the hotel,” Hurzeler says. “The funny thing was, we watched England against Croatia together. We just talked about football. He shared a few stories. For example, Luka Modric was on the pitch. He shared some stories about Modric (who played under Ancelotti at Real Madrid), how he was, how he acted as a leader.”

Hurzeler had another valuable learning experience at the World Cup, working for UK radio station Talksport. He summarised during England’s 0-0 draw against Ghana, and provided post-match analysis for England games and after Spain’s win against Argentina in the final.

“It helps you as a coach in that you have to summarise things in a short and very easy way so that everyone understands,” Hurzeler explains. “Football might get more and more complex, but simplicity counts. Less is more. Expressing yourself in the media is also something every manager can benefit from, because you keep learning how you handle arguments, discussions with other experts. I enjoy these things because I see similarities to my job.”

Hurzeler had little involvement in the tournament with matches involving Germany, and he has deliberately immersed himself in the way of life in England during two years in charge of Brighton.

Our interview at Rockwater, a popular venue on the beach promenade in Hove, was interrupted by a mother requesting a photo of Hurzeler with her two sons. This happens frequently to Hurzeler, who has become an instantly recognisable figure during his reign in the coastal city he calls home.

“I really want to adapt to this culture here,” he says. “When I get criticised (by the media or fans), I get criticised in the right way. I always felt it was a respectful way. So, I want to give something back. I want to integrate into the culture here. I see myself now here, living in the UK. So I have to behave as if I’m from the UK, too.

“It has a lot to do with the city here, with the club. I feel very welcome. It has a sense of community, of being a family. I feel like I’m part of this journey. And that’s why I really can identify with it. That makes me feel more and more British.”

Hurzeler came under criticism in the middle of last season, as Brighton struggled for wins (Robbie Jay Barratt/Getty Images)

It has not been all smooth sailing on the south coast for Hurzeler. He was berated by pockets of Brighton supporters at the Amex Stadium after a 1-0 defeat by bitter rivals Crystal Palace in February during a winter slump of one win in 13 league games. Some called for his sacking. An impressive turnaround in form — featuring Hurzeler’s brand of controlled intensity in and out of possession — ended in a second successive eighth-place finish and qualification for the Conference League. Brighton face Norwegian outfit Tromso in the play-off round over two legs either side of Sunday’s opening Premier League fixture at home to Aston Villa. 

Hurzeler signed a new three-year contract in May, but did he ever have any doubts about putting pen to paper? “If I said not at all, I would lie,” he says. “There are always doubts. But more regarding the results. I’m still so convinced of my style of play, so convinced of how I’m leading, so convinced about big belief in my players. Big belief that my style of play fits perfectly to the players. And that they can fulfil their whole potential within this style. So, regarding this, I never had doubts. But of course, when you don’t get the results, you think about how to get the results.

“And two things are important in these kinds of phases. Never let these doubts or fear or insecurity impact your behaviour or your belief. It’s very important that you always stand in front of the group and express this belief.

“And the second thing is: don’t change my deep philosophy. The change would be, ‘Now we go to a low block and we only make transitions’. And that’s the worst thing you can do. Of course, you need to adjust and adapt small things. You can make changes regarding the starting 11, how you speak to the team, set up training. But not fundamental changes.

“Don’t change, because then the players think, ‘One week we play like this, the other week we play like this’. I’m so convinced of my style of playing, my philosophy, I won’t change it. I will adapt and adjust to certain elements. But this deep foundation will always be with me.”

Hurzeler was high on Bayer Leverkusen’s wanted list when uncertainty shrouded his future. He has never managed in the top Bundesliga division, but steered St Pauli to promotion from the second tier before succeeding Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton in the summer of 2024. Having been in Bayern Munich’s academy and reserves as a central midfielder — “clever but not the fastest” — before retiring in his mid-twenties to concentrate on coaching, what if his boyhood club came calling?

At 33, Hurzeler is the youngest manager in the Premier League (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

“You never know how the future goes,” says Hurzeler. “Of course, there are some paths I had in my playing career and some connections towards (Bayern). I didn’t have one talk with any club. Because I’m fully committed to Brighton. I feel a lot of trust from Tony (Bloom, Brighton’s owner-chairman), from Paul (Barber, chief executive). They really believe in me and the things I’m doing. And I’m still having this feeling when I go to bed that this team is not done yet.

“We are playing good in phases, but we are not playing consistently how I want to see my team playing. You need consistency in how you build connections, because building connections with the players is key. And you need time to build this. This club has everything to achieve one day. Big things that stay really in the mind.

“I want to be part of it. And I can’t promise it will happen this season. But I can promise that we will keep working hard, keep doing the right things, keep staying humble — which is very important. And understand that it’s about relationships, about connections. Then we can do great things, definitely.”

The pursuit of further progress has driven a summer rebuild of the Brighton squad, giving it a younger, fresher look. A core group of players in their thirties and forties has been eroded, most notably by the retirement of James Milner and the departure of Danny Welbeck to Chelsea.

The six signings can be split into two categories: players in their mid-to-late twenties, led by central defender Pascal Struijk from Leeds United and Tuesday’s loan signing of Canada international Promise David, and young talents, spearheaded by 19-year-old centre-back Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham Hotspur. The Croatia international cost a club record £46million ($61.5m), which is £6m less than the fee received for Jan Paul van Hecke’s move in the opposite direction.

Vuskovic and Nigerian winger Zadok Yohanna — bought for £21.8m from Swedish side AIK — are the types of young players Brighton have become renowned for developing before selling on for big profits. Recruitment is based on Bloom’s global data bank, but Hurzeler is heavily involved in the process. “That’s also a big part of why I extended my contract,” he says. “Because of the good collaboration, the good communication with Tony about these things. He’s very open. He gives me a lot of freedom, a lot of power.

“Of course it’s in a frame. What I mean by a frame is: when you need a centre-back, the numbers say we have these four or five choices. Then we sit together. How is his character? Does he fit the style of play? Does he fit into the locker room? And injuries in the past. All these kinds of things, the soft factors. But then it’s always a decision we make together. So, this frame comes from Tony. But within this frame, we have a very transparent and very honest collaboration. I see I can create something together with Tony.”

Brighton broke their transfer record to sign Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

Hurzeler has already risen to fifth on the list of longest-serving managers in the Premier League. There are nine newcomers this season and six of last season’s top 12 finishers have new managers in charge, complicating the challenges that lie ahead. “We have now a big change of coaches you need to get used to, analyse different styles of play, great coaches,” Huzeler says. “I expect again a league that is unpredictable, that is so competitive, a league where again — I hope that it’s getting less — but set pieces still get a very important role.”

Hurzeler was outspoken about Arsenal’s time-wasting and reliance on set pieces before and after an ugly 1-0 defeat to the eventual champions at the Amex in March. He accepts that “set pieces are game-changers and match-winners”, but fears they will disrupt attempts to make Premier League matches quicker via a range of new laws, rolled out initially at this summer’s World Cup.

They include five-second countdowns by referees for goal kicks and throw-ins (although not for long throws), and the loss of a nominated outfield player for one minute when a goalkeeper asks for treatment, in an attempt to eradicate tactical timeouts. Hurzeler singled out David Raya for criticism over time-wasting when the Arsenal goalkeeper went down for treatment in the second half of that March encounter.

“When we introduce this natural time, when we try to make the game faster, every set piece will interrupt the game,” Hurzeler says. “So, it’s very important to keep the rhythm. Football is a game that attracts people, an event people pay so much money for to see their team playing in an exciting style, so they can go home and say, ‘Wow, I was entertained’.

“As a coach, I get judged by the result. That means I know how important set pieces will be to win games. But on the other side, we want to develop young players and have a clear style of play, and set pieces are not the biggest part of our identity.

“For every trend, there will be a counter-trend, so let’s see how long this trend will be with set pieces, but we have to be ready for the counter-trend. That’s why it’s very important to not lose your identity, to not lose your philosophy.”

Hurzeler refers quite often to “challenging the establishment”, by which he means the elite clubs. The next step for Brighton is to disprove the norm that league form for clubs of their size suffers with the distraction of Europe — they dropped from sixth to 11th when reaching the last 16 of the Europa League under De Zerbi in 2023-24.

“I read the statistics and I’m not a big fan of statistics,” Hurzeler says. “This will be our challenge this season: to be consistent throughout the season, and if we are consistent, we can prove this statistic wrong.”