The narrative of Fabian Hurzeler being the youngest Premier League manager in history is getting boring. Instead the question should be: Why is he the youngest top-flight coach in history?
The 31-year-old’s start to life in English football with Brighton has been impressive. Six games, zero defeats, undefeated against Arsenal and Manchester United and clean sheets in half their matches so far.
Hurzeler sits down with Sky Sports and question one is about what rating he would give his side out of 10 so far. He jokes that, with data-driven owner Tony Bloom at the helm, he already has those numbers to hand.
“Maybe we’re at seven, maybe six?,” he says. “The top of the middle, I would say.
“I wouldn’t say that we are already a top team. Of course it should be our ambition and our goal, but we have to work hard for this.
“Of course, there are still lots of improvements we can do and we will try to work on it. But, on the other side, we should be positive and say ‘things already work’.”
So what is working for Hurzeler? What is currently on show that justifies Brighton going for a young second division manager from Germany.
This journalist ran through the tactical elements of Hurzeler’s Brighton with the manager himself – and the insight is fascinating.
‘I don’t like formations’ – so are midfielders playing up front?
Hurzeler arrived at Brighton with next to no reputation at the highest level of the game – but those who watched the German at St Pauli referred to him and his tactics as ‘quirky’.
The young coach’s set-up was so bizarre that many believed he was playing a 3-0-7 formation – completely emptying the midfield and his midfielders up front.
“You occupy opponents more if you have more players in the last line,” says Hurzeler about this tactic. “Then you create more dynamism with deep runs and how many players can create deep runs.
“What I always try to do is increasing the percentage of scoring and you do that by attacking the box, by creating dynamics with deep runs.”
At Brighton this season, the Seagulls’ build-up play resembles a lot of what St Pauli did under Hurzeler last season.
James Milner and Joao Pedro – on paper playing in attacking midfield roles – have been seen appearing in the forward line in those abnormal positions. Georginio Rutter and Yasin Ayari have also played those roles.
Some believe these attacking midfielders are ‘false 10s’. Hurzeler does not really care what they are called.
Hurzeler plays his central midfielders in high and wide areas – leading many to call them ‘false tens’
“You can call them No 8s, false 10s, it’s up to everyone to call them what they want. For me, a false 10 is fine,” he says.
“It’s not about the names of the position, it’s about the players interpreting their positioning, how they show their skills in each space.”
Whether it is 4-3-3 or 3-0-7, Hurzeler still cares little. The changing nature of each game, especially in one of the best leagues in the world, means there is no time for formations.
“I’m not biggest fan of formations. Because the game is so fluent that the opponent, how the opponents press is not always the same,” he adds.
“I want to have principles, they are moments in the game or situations in the game where my players know what to do. Which principles are key to finding the solution in this moment? You have to find the solution by using the principles.”
Eleven managers on the pitch
Hurzeler wants his Brighton players to work out their problems themselves
It comes on nicely to the next key part of Hurzeler’s philosophy – creating an environment where his players work out these tactical tweaks by themselves, without the help of the manager.
“I want us to be fluid in our positioning. It’s about seeing what the opponent gives us, seeing where we can find the space,” he says.
“It’s very important for me that we have the ability to change during a game. I don’t want to be a coach who goes ‘that’s the positioning, you have to do this and that’, because the game is so situational.
“What I want from my players is they understand the situation. How many strikers do the opponents attack with? How many midfielders do they have?
“Are they very man-to-man orientated in where the midfielders are? Is there a plus one in the last line? I want them to understand the situation of the game because I need to have decision-makers on the pitch.
“We can help from the outside – I try to help and my staff try to help, but the most important thing is the player understands the ‘why’ and they understand the pressing patterns of the opponents so they can find the solution on their own.”
De Zerbi gratitude for playing-out-the-back tactics
Trying to beat that press is reliant on a solid build-up from the back. It starts with the goalkeepers who always go short at goal-kicks, but how they progress up the field is dependent on centre-backs Lewis Dunk and Jan Paul van Hecke.
Both are among the top Premier League players for touches and progressing the ball through the lines. Dunk is known for his passing reliability, while Van Hecke also does that – but is also one of the best players in the league at carrying the ball through the lines. Van Hecke’s start to the season earned him a first Netherlands call-up in September.
Hurzeler speaks regularly about needing to have “courage” on the ball – and the success of his centre-backs and goalkeeper is just as much mind as it is matter.
“On the one side you need to have the quality that they can play out the back, but then on the other side you need to have the mindset and the courage to go ‘I want to play out from the back’. That’s very important for me,” he says.
“They have to be convinced to do it, if a player is not convinced on the pitch then he won’t trust in his own skills and he won’t trust the idea.
“That’s something in life too. If you face a challenge, a big challenge, you have to be completely convinced on managing this challenge. The players have it and it helps me to transport my idea even more to the pitch.”
Hurzeler also paid tribute to his predecessor Roberto De Zerbi for setting the foundations for the young German to carry on. This passing out from the back was commonplace in the seasons before Hurzeler arrived – allowing the current Seagulls manager to have a quick transition into the team.
“I also have to say that it helps that the coach I had here before was De Zerbi because he integrated this style of play,” says Hurzeler.
“He brought this current energy to the players. So I don’t have to make a complete turnaround of the players because they were familiar with this.”
Intense counter-pressing
As well as courageous, Hurzeler wants his team to be “intense” off the ball. The numbers back that up.
Brighton lead the Premier League for not only distance covered but they have made more counter-presses – quick ball regains after losing it – than any other Premier League team this season.
Before Hurzeler arrived, compatriot Jurgen Klopp was deemed the Premier League’s master counter-pressing manager – and Arne Slot’s focus on this specific tactic is arguably why he was hired to replace the German at Liverpool.
Former Liverpool midfielder Milner told Sky Sports at the start of the season that Hurzeler’s style is very similar to that of Klopp – and the counter-pressing numbers prove why.
“Of course, you might have a bad day or technical mistakes during the game,” says Hurzeler. “But it’s always about the reaction: how do you react after a mistake?
“Mistakes can happen in a game. Only not often though, it shouldn’t happen several times. But they happen, it’s part of the game. For me, it’s important how you react. So counter-pressing is key.
“And on top of that, I’m convinced that if you run more than the opponent, you do more sprints, you do more high-speed metres, you increase the percentage of winning. These are things we can influence every minute, every game, every second.”
Offsides galore – the impressive high line
Pressing and counter-pressing so regularly means Brighton’s players are sucked towards the top end of the pitch. That filters all the way back to the defensive line, which has been known for his superb offside trap this season.
Brighton also lead the way in the Premier League with the most offsides won against the opponent in the opening four matches with 19. Throw in their two Carabao Cup ties and they have 31 offsides won in six games.
Brighton also have the third-highest backline out of any Premier League side – only ‘big six’ sides Manchester City and Tottenham have a higher line.
“For me, the high line is something that fits with the compactness of the team. If you want to defend well as a team, you have to be compact, you always have to move as a block,” says Hurzeler.
“The last line has to work hard, recognise the body language of the opponents. When do they start the deep run? When are they able to play the long ball? It’s again very important to understand the game, not just in possession and out of possession.
“The high line is a lot of work: it’s about understanding and connection – and it helps to defend very compact. If you defend very compact, the percentage of winning the ball and gaining it as high as possible is high.”
Areas to improve: Concentration in ‘rest defence’
After nearly 20 minutes of discussing the strengths of his Brighton team, there is no hesitation from the German about where his side need to improve. “A lot!” he cries.
The main area Hurzeler mentions is concentration, specifically the periods of ‘rest defence’ – i.e. the position the defenders take up when their team-mates are attacking, covering the spaces so the team does not get counter-attacked.
It is an important topic going into Sunday’s game with Nottingham Forest, live on Sky Sports. Brighton are one of the Premier League teams most vulnerable to counter-attacks. Forest, on the other hand, are the team most dangerous from fast breaks and exploding from a low block.
“It starts in possession,” says Hurzeler. “How good is your positioning with the ball? How close are your pass distances to each other when you lose the ball? Do you have a close net to each other so you can avoid counter-pressing and transition moments from the opponents?
“The transition moments from the opponents are so difficult to defend. You have to be very, very good in rest defence. It’s about positioning and the distance between each other – but it’s also about scanning the field.
“It’s natural that you follow always the ball – but, for me, it’s also important what happens far away from the ball. What do you perceive when you are far away from the ball? How accurate are you far away from the ball?
“There’s a great motto and idea that I read one day: the average time you spend on the ball is two minutes. So 88 minutes you don’t have the ball. What do you do in these 88 minutes? That makes a difference.
Sunday 22nd September 1:00pm
Kick off 2:00pm
“How active are you when you don’t have the ball? My players need to find the positioning or a space in the game where they are active. So we all need to have a job, especially during these 88 minutes. That’s something that we have to improve on.
“We have to be more consistent in all phases in the game: in set-pieces, possession, out of possession, counter pressing – even though we are good there – but we could be better in rest defence. It’s about doing things consistently good in all phases.
“That’s where we have to improve. Sometimes we do it in 20 minutes or 25, but not in 90 minutes. That’s something I want to achieve.”
Watch Brighton vs Nottingham Forest live on Sky Sports this Super Sunday from 1pm; kick-off 2pm. Stream the game with a NOW TV pass.