‘I was sacked as an art dealer because I was too obsessed with football, now I’m making history in the Premier League’
FABIAN HURZELER is equally as comfortable discussing Picasso and pressing — although he has a clear preference.
The Brighton boss was once sacked as an art dealer for being too obsessed with football, the sort of dedication which has turned him into a groundbreaking coach.
You may have heard he is quite young, a fact he is constantly reminded of.
But despite being 31, the decision to end his playing career and start coaching at 23 means he already possesses bags of experience.
Hurzeler has been coaching as long as Mikel Arteta, 11 years his senior.
Although the Arsenal manager never had to flog art on the side to keep things going as Hurzeler did when in charge of fifth-tier FC Pipinsried in his first role as a coach.
He said: “Life in Munich is expensive, like in London. When I sold one picture or one painting in a month, it was like I was done so I could focus more during this time and watch a lot of football games during this time during my work.
“That was also the reason why I got fired. The owner, she was very polite but one day she recognised that I’m watching more football during work instead of really working because we weren’t selling any paintings any more. Then I got fired.”
Hurzeler got the job in the first place through friend Roman Plesche, a sports-science student who worked in the gallery.
Plesche, who would later be Hurzeler’s sporting director in his first post as a head coach, recalled: “I told the boss that my best friend speaks good English and can also sell.
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“He had a very good feel for art, he knew how to inspire customers.
“We sold an Andy Warhol together. But I think football is better for him than art.”
Hurzeler has already enjoyed more than the 15 minutes of fame that Warhol talked about.
The German talks a lot about the work ethic his parents instilled in him.
But those values also gave him the confidence to end a playing career which had seen him as a young talent in the Bayern Munich academy.
His family were still taken aback at the decision, explaining: “Of course they were surprised. I always say, it’s my life and it’s a choice I make. I take responsibility for that.
“No one else will take responsibility for my life. It’s something I always try to follow. I have to feel happy with the situation.
“A lot of people don’t understand it and because they said I could easily play, maybe in second or third division.
“But they will never understand the feeling inside of me, what I really want to achieve in life, my vision in life.”
Born in Texas
Family values and vision is something Hurzeler comes back to a lot over an hour chatting at Brighton’s Sussex base.
One of four siblings, born to two dentists in Texas before moving to Germany at the age of two, all of them have a fierce competitive streak.
The Seagulls boss already has one yellow and one red card for his touchline antics this season and knows that competitive edge can get the better of him, in a football game or even playing Uno or Catan at Christmas.
He said: “Honestly, when you talk to some guys who I played against, they would say, ‘What an a*******’.
“When we were on the pitch, it was like winning, winning, winning. And that’s the same, honestly, with my family.
“When I’m with my family, let’s say at Christmas and we played games and I lost the game, the night was over for me.
“We are all made of the same blood, so my sisters and brothers and also my father, when they lose, they were the same. That’s how I grew up, it was a competition all the time.”
The desire to compete now extends to the padel court with Hurzeler — like almost everyone in football — having become a huge fan of the sport.
He is now campaigning for a court to be built at the Brighton training ground. Those luxuries are a far cry from his start as a coach, with FC Pipinsried eight years ago.
There was a fast start, promotion to the fourth tier in his first season but then the tests arrived.
Losing the first seven games of the new term taught Hurzeler he must be able to adapt.
He has always wanted to control a game through possession and with a high line but never just for the sake of it.
Hurzeler added: “I had a good start in my career. We went from the fifth league to the fourth in the first year.
“But we started by losing the first seven games. I was sitting in a coffee shop and the media called and said, ‘Do you think if you lose the next game, then you’ll still be the coach or not?’ Then I was like, ‘OK, that’s the business’.”
Premier League meeting
There has been adapting to do in the Premier League too.
Not even a year ago, Hurzeler was touring English clubs, watching Brighton as well as visiting Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham to try to learn from their experiences.
But that only went so far in preparing him for the Prem, admitting: “I didn’t expect it to be this intense and this demanding.
“Every team in this league, also the teams who were promoted like Ipswich, they have individual quality in their team to win games.
“Then during the game, it’s so fascinating for me… that’s what I learned, you have to work hard for the momentum.
“When you have momentum, you have to use it, otherwise the other team will take it.”
The final match before the international break was a perfect demonstration of this.
Hurzeler said little at half-time, deciding not to go in all guns blazing and it paid off — coming from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham 3-2.
He said: “Football is crazy sometimes.”
For all the questions over his age, that calm approach after a rotten first half showcased the benefit. Few other managers will have such a keen understanding of their squad’s mindset.
Asked what the biggest advantage of being a young manager is, he said: “Speaking the language of the players.
“I’m their age, so we have the same needs. We are in the same situations. Maybe we lose a girlfriend. Maybe you experience the same things, you have a similar sense of humour.”