For the last couple of seasons, Italian head coach Roberto De Zerbi has established a reputation as one of the most promising tacticians in the game.
His work at Sassuolo, Shakhtar Donetsk, and most recently, Brighton Hove Albion was admirable, contributing to his reputation as an exciting up-and-coming young head coach.
A relative success at Brighton
De Zerbi arrived at Brighton in September 2022, replacing another highly-rated head coach, Graham Potter, who had moved to Chelsea after a decent spell on the south coast. The move made sense, as both played a similar possession-based, attacking style of football.
The appointment felt like a coup for the Seagulls, who have seemingly become experts in hiring bosses that fit a specific profile.
Brighton thrived under the Italian, finishing sixth in the table and earning a Europa League spot for the following season. It was the club from the south coast’s highest finish in the English top flight in their history.
They excelled not just by playing exciting football that fans wanted to watch, but De Zerbi got the best out of the players. The season only enhanced his reputation as a promising head coach.
The Seagulls led to the Italian being linked with several high-profile jobs, with De Zerbi seemingly being the flavour of the month when it came to coaches.
His future at Brighton seemed promising, even if it was almost inevitable that he would eventually leave the club for a higher-profile job elsewhere.
Not such an impressive second-season
In truth, it was always going to be difficult for Brighton to accomplish another top-six finish in season 2023/24. One big challenge was the fact that so many clubs spent big in order to mount a realistic top-six or top-four challenge.
However, as is usually the case with the Seagulls in recent transfer windows, key players moved on, such as Argentinian World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister, who joined Liverpool having scored 12 times for the south coast outfit.
His midfield colleague Moise Caicedo and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez both joined Chelsea, the former for a reported eye-watering fee that could potentially rise to £115m with add-ons.
They did go out and sign promising Brazilian forward Joao Pedro from Watford and a young goalkeeper, Bert Verbruggen. However, the Seagulls were far weaker on paper without their key midfield players.
The 2023/24 season was one of slight stagnation, underwhelming by the previous season’s standards. After a mediocre campaign, the team from the south coast finished a disappointing 11th place in the table.
Maybe De Zerbi had raised expectations to an unrealistic level in his debut campaign as the Seagulls head coach.
A few weeks before the season’s end, the club announced that they had come to a mutual agreement that De Zerbi would leave at the end of the season.
It later emerged that the Italian had clashed with Brighton’s owner, Tony Bloom. De Zerbi has hinted that the main issue was the lack of investment in the team. He may have a point with the team going from sixth to 11th place in a season.
De Zerbi joined French giants Marseille at the end of June, signing a three-year deal with the former- Ligue One champions.
The new head coach hasn’t made a bad start
As with De Zerbi coming in as Potter’s successor, Brighton has decided to appoint another head coach who likes his team to dominate possession.
The Seagulls’ strategy is a successful one, as even with a new head coach the team produces a similar style of play, which leads to better continuity.
The latest Brighton head coach is American-born German wunderkind Fabian Hurzeler, who, at 31, is the youngest permanent Premier League head coach ever.
Hurzeler caught the eye by guiding St. Pauli to promotion to the Bundesliga in season 23/24. When he joined the Kiezkicker in 2022 they were in danger of suffering relegation to the German third tier.
In a short space of time, he transformed the team’s style of play and fortunes. Hurzeler’s football philosophy has led to comparisons with compatriot and former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
However, his age has also led to inevitable comparisons to another German head coach who broke into the coaching game early, Germany’s national team boss Julian Nagelsmann.
He was always going to have to live with those comparisons. However, Hurzeler can’t control what has been said about him, and he can’t control his age.
However, in the interviews he has done so far, the former Bayern Munich trainee has come across as a bright and articulate young coach who knows exactly what he wants from his team.
Hurzeler started his reign as Brighton’s head coach with an impressive, if slightly fortuitous, 3-0 win at ten-man Everton on the opening day of the Premier League campaign. The Seagulls struggled to get into the game in the opening 20 minutes.
However, after Japan international Kaoru Mitoma opened the scoring on 25 minutes, they never looked back. They survived an overturned penalty decision in the second half, while Everton’s Ashley Young was shown a red card just after the hour mark.
There will be tougher challenges to come than an injury-hit Toffees team. However, the early signs of the Fabian Hurzeler reign are positive.
De Zerbi’s departure from the club could well prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Seagulls, who suddenly seem like a fresher and more vibrant team.
Can Fabian Hurzeler take the Seagulls to even higher heights than his predecessor?