From art dealer to Premier League manager: Fabian Hurzeler’s rapid ascent
When Brighton lost 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace in February, Fabian Hurzeler was booed by his own supporters and subjected to chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning". After that defeat, which left the Seagulls 14th with one win in 12 Premier League matches, Hurzeler responded: "There are only two options," and added, "Give up or keep pushing harder, and that's always the option I choose in my life." Eight months on, Brighton sit third in the table and Hurzeler is being hailed as one of Europe's most feted young managers.
Hurzeler became the youngest permanent Premier League manager when he was appointed in June 2024 at the age of 31. His stock has surged following a run of 11 wins in 18 top-flight games that has pushed Brighton back into European qualification contention, and the team produced statement victories over Arsenal and Aston Villa during that sequence. Palace return to Amex Stadium on Sunday with a 14:00 BST kick-off, testing Brighton's current surge.
There was post-match discussion after last Saturday's win at Sunderland that Hurzeler could be a target for a major club, a conversation fuelled by the new long-term contract he signed before the end of last season and the £150m budget handed to him in the summer. Former Brighton striker Glenn Murray reflected on the turnaround, saying: "You learn more about yourself and the people around you when you are losing games. Hurzeler has come out the other side and the way he has got this group of players performing is exceptional." Fans who once chanted "you don't know what you're doing" are now debating whether rival clubs will try to recruit him.
Hurzeler's coaching pathway began after he ended his playing career in 2016 to take a player-manager role at German fifth-tier side Pipinsried at the age of 23. To supplement his income at the village club he worked for an art dealer selling paintings to wealthy Bavarians and later said in a 2024 interview with the Guardian that he had been fired because he spent too much time watching games. He compared selling pictures to coaching: "If you want to sell something to a person, you have to try to convince them by doing something," adding, "The most important thing is to understand the person behind the player. What are his needs? What are his values? How is he educated? How was his past? Where does he get education?"
Hurzeler left St Pauli in 2024 after guiding the Hamburg club back to the Bundesliga following a 13-year absence, a campaign that ended with teammates celebrating his success by covering him in beer. During his rise he studied other coaches: he visited Tottenham's training ground to watch Ange Postecoglou and asked so many questions that Postecoglou had another member of his staff step in, and he picked up ideas from Roberto de Zerbi at Brighton a few months before replacing him when Kieran McKenna opted to remain at Ipswich.
His tenure at Brighton has included difficult episodes as well as praise: the Seagulls were thrashed 7-0 at Nottingham Forest in his first season in charge, and Martin Keown described him as "wet behind the ears" after a 4-2 defeat at Chelsea in September 2024. Scott McCarthy of the We Are Brighton fan site recalled how the crowd had turned against him last season — "He looked like a manager who was out of ideas" — and credited Hurzeler's recent changes: "He relied on an experienced core in the side to get out of the hole, which is testament to him because it shows his pragmatic side. You get managers who are wedded to their philosophy and won't change. Hurzeler realised what he was doing was not working and that it could cost him his job, so tried something else. You can now see this is a team more in his image, because they press insanely."
Not everyone expects him to depart soon. McCarthy said: "I personally don't think he will go." Back in Pipinsried, where his name remains revered, Sepp Ankner, the club's chief finance officer, told The Athletic in 2024: "Yes, he does enjoy coming back every now and then - to see if everything's in order. When he does, he talks to everybody. He's really retained that connection with Pipinsried."
Brighton host Crystal Palace at the Amex Stadium on Sunday with a 14:00 BST kick-off, the next concrete test of Hurzeler's position and of whether the club can sustain their current place in the table.
