In recent years, Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion has become a breeding ground for great managers, employing relatively unknown coaches who then move on to bigger clubs after a few successful years.
It started with Graham Potter, who had come to prominence at the Seagulls before being hired by Chelsea, and his replacement was Italian manager Roberto De Zerbi, who was due to step down in the summer of 2024 after being linked with some of the continent’s biggest clubs.
The latest manager is Fabian Furzeler, who took over after the departure of De Zerbi and will be the youngest manager in Premier League history. The American-born manager is just 31 years old, which means it’s a big risk but also big expectations.
Sporting News brings you everything you need to know about Haseler, including where he’s from, how he likes his team’s style of play and how he’s fitting in with his new Premier League employers.
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Who is Fabian Haseler? The Texan takes over at Brighton
Fabian Hertzeller was born in Houston, Texas to a Swiss father and a German mother, both of whom worked as dentists, and moved back to Germany at the age of two, after which he continued to have frequent contact with the US on family trips.
Hürzeler spent the majority of his playing career in the youth teams of Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim and 1860 Munich before joining fifth-tier club FC Peppinsried as player-coach in 2016, an increasingly rare move in modern football.
He spent four years in that role before being hired as assistant manager at second-tier Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli under coach Timo Schulz in 2020. After Schulz was sacked in late 2022, Hürzeler was named interim manager and took over as permanent manager just two weeks later, becoming the youngest manager in the German second division at age 29.
He earned his UEFA Pro Licence the following year and led St. Pauli to victory in the 2. Bundesliga in the 2023/24 season and promotion to the German first division. He was due to sign a new contract with the club in May 2024 and become the youngest Bundesliga manager since 1994, but instead received an offer from Brighton and decided to move to the Premier League.
Fabian Haseler’s tactics and playing style
The 31-year-old employs a similar tactical set-up to his Brighton predecessor, De Zerbi, starting with a 3-4-3 formation and utilising a basic 3-2 structure to build up from the back when in possession.
Hürzeler’s build-up is slightly less risky than De Zerbi’s transition philosophy in possession, but the fundamentals of the approach are the same: he positions his two defensive midfielders deep to give them options going forward, while his wing-backs stay high and wide to receive the ball, drawing opponents into wide spaces.
They press relatively hard when they don’t have the ball, but drop back to a 5-2-3 if they don’t win the ball back quickly, but once they do have the ball and are in transition they can push a lot of players very high up and punish the opposition’s passing mistakes.
Haseler has placed an emphasis on possession and off-ball movement, teaching players where to fill spaces and receive the ball.
Fabian Haseler’s career record and clubs he has managed
Before moving to England, Haseler spent his entire eight-year coaching career in Germany, six of which as manager.
The former midfielder, who is in his first season at Brighton, boasts a win rate of just under 50 per cent over his career, with most of those achievements coming during his time at St Pauli.
Club Country Year Wins-Draws-Losses Win Rate FC Pippinsried Germany 2016-20 38-28-37 36.9% FC St. Pauli Germany 2022-24 36-11-8 65.5% Brighton England 2024-Present — — Total 74-39-45 46.8%
