Brighton Manager | Current Coach, History & Past Managers

Fabian Hurzeler: Teams Coached, Stats and Salary

The current Brighton manager has already made quite a name for himself in his relatively short managerial career. Hurzeler initially began his coaching career as a joint player/head coach role Bavarian amateur club FC Pipinsried. After working four years for them, he became St. Pauli's assistant coach in 2020 before taking the head role in 2022. He spent two years with the German club before becoming the manager of Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer of 2024. In his managerial career, Hurzeler has been fortunate enough to have won way more matches than he's lost. He's also done an admirable job as the Brighton manager, helping them win the majority of their matches in the 2024/25 season in style.

Current Brighton and Hove Albion Manager's Tactics & Playing Style

Since becoming the new Brighton manager after replacing Roberto de Zerbi in the role, Fabian Hurzeler has made some vital changes to their playing style. As the Brighton manager, Hurzeler has mostly opted to shape up his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation or in a 4-4-2 formation occasionally. He has rarely used a five-man backline, only doing so for a handful of matches in the 2024/25 Premier League season. However, Brighton's shape can often change during matches, especially into a 3-4-3 formation when playing the ball out of their own backline.

As the Brighton manager, Hurzeler likes a more possession-based playing style where his team can retain control. However, unlike the former Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi, the 32-year-old has transformed the Seagulls to be quicker on the transitions and more direct with their attacking approach.

As a result, the Brighton and Hove Albion manager encourages his players to swiftly move the ball into the opposition's final third with a few crisp passes and even play long balls if necessary. The Brighton manager urges players to take more risks and be aggressive with their approach, which encourages players to often drift out of their natural positions to trouble opponents. As part of Hurzeler's system, the Brighton central midfielders are often encouraged to make darting runs into the box to provide more goal-scoring options, and wingers often cut into the box to make it tough for opposition defenders to employ a smart marking system.

Fabian Hurzeler has also shown impressive adaptability to different scenarios during matches as the Brighton manager. The Brighton and Hove Albion manager isn't afraid of changing his side's shape during matches to make them more impactful. His in-game decision-making has helped Brighton turn things around in a lot of matches in the 2024/25 season. The Brighton FC manager proved himself as an expert when it comes to making impact substitutions, as the Seagulls benefited from 15 goals from substitutes in the 2024/25 Premier League season. Only Fulham (17) had more goals for substitutes in the campaign, showing how good the Brighton manager is at bringing on the right players who can help change results.

List of Brighton and Hove Albion Managers - Full Timeline

The Brighton and Hove Albion managers history includes a list of several notable coaches to have served as the Brighton FC manager in the past. The new Brighton manager in 2024 was Fabian Hurzeler, who replaced the former Brighton and Albion manager Roberto de Zerbi. When it comes to having won trophies as Brighton and Hove Albion managers, there are only a few individuals who actually hold that accolade in the Brighton and Hove Albion managers history.

It was Brighton FC manager Jimmy Melia who took them to the 1982/83 FA Cup final, the only time they've reached that stage. Under Brighton and Hove Albion manager Jack Robson, the club also won the Charity Shield. The legendary Brian Clough served a short stint as the Brighton and Hove Albion manager, as did former Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia in 2014. Here's Brighton and Hove Albion manager history: