FC St. Pauli must look for a new coach after being promoted to the Bundesliga. Fabian Hürzeler is leaving the club with immediate effect and will become the new head coach at Brighton & Hove Albion at just 31 years of age. The English Premier League club and Hamburg announced this on Saturday. Nothing has been officially announced about the specific terms of the transfer; Brighton are said to be paying up to ten million euros for the transfer. Hürzeler signed a contract with national player Pascal Groß’s club until summer 2027. He is to be officially presented at a press conference on July 2nd.
:Win-win-win-Situation
St. Pauli’s promotion coach Fabian Hürzeler is about to move to Brighton & Hove Albion. The 31-year-old could become the youngest Premier League coach – and the second most expensive Bundesliga coach behind Julian Nagelsmann.
“It was a pleasure for me to be able to accompany this special club on its journey. The move to the Premier League is a dream come true for me, but I will always carry St. Pauli and the unforgettable moments we shared, especially the promotion to the 1. Bundesliga, in my heart,” said Hürzeler in the FC St. Pauli statement. A decision on the successor has not yet been made.
Hürzeler is now the youngest head coach in Premier League history. Only Ryan Mason was younger in 2021 as interim coach at Tottenham Hotspur. Hürzeler will succeed the resigned Roberto De Zerbi, whom he once described as a role model. Just in January, the then Pauli coach was in England and watched a Brighton game. “Away from the pressure of the regular season, we have taken our time to get this appointment right and are delighted to have agreed on Fabian as our new head coach. He has already shown in a relatively short time as head coach that he is one of the most innovative coaches in football and we look forward to preparing for next season,” said Brighton’s managing director Paul Barber.
At FC St. Pauli, Hürzeler was promoted from assistant to head coach in December 2022, succeeding Timo Schultz. He led the club, which was then threatened with relegation, out of the danger zone with ten consecutive wins and finished the season in fifth place. In the past season, Hürzeler then pulled off the big coup and promoted the Hamburg team to the Bundesliga as second division champions. In March, the 31-year-old also extended his contract, which was due to expire at the end of the season. The contract did not contain an exit clause.