Experience the thrill of the game

By Eduard Banulescu

Brighton is once again one of the top teams in the Premier League. This isn’t exactly anything new, but it’s still surprising. The appointment of Fabian Hürzeler has proven beyond doubt that the Seagulls are a great club when it comes to looking for managers or players.

However, the success is not only due to sensible club policy. Fabian Hürzeler’s tactics play an important role in this great season.

What sets these tactics apart? How can you use this to improve your FootballCoin team? These are the things I will discuss in this article.

Career before managing Brighton

First things first: yes, Brighton can certainly pick them. Many fans assumed it was Roberto de Zerbi’s touch that had helped Brighton beat the big boys. But before that, it was another half-unknown person, Graham Potter, who had achieved astonishing results.

How did Brighton discover Fabian Hürzeler? At the time of writing, he is only 31 years old. As a teenager, he was part of the FC Bayern Munich player academy. But after playing in the lower leagues for a while, he ended his playing career at the tender age of 23.

But then Hürzeler used the relationships he had built to jumpstart a coaching career. He initially managed the fifth German football league before taking a position as assistant coach at St. Pauli. He eventually became the club’s head coach and led them to promotion to the Bundesliga in 2024.

Still, many were surprised when he was given the task of replacing De Zerbi, one of the Premier League’s hottest managers.

Tactical philosophy

While some young managers find working with famous, experienced players intimidating, Fabian Hürzeler uses his age to his advantage. Hürzeler attaches great importance to personnel management and promises to help every member of the team improve. And the Germans have shown openness to new tactical ideas.

Fabian Hürzeler’s tactics emphasize dynamism and fluidity. Players change positions frequently and ideally need to be able to perform in a variety of roles. You also need to be able to push tirelessly and complete running miles.

But Brighton’s club philosophy is also worth considering. Under Potter or De Zerbi, the Seagulls were known for their emphasis on possession and tactical flexibility.

Hürzeler was brought in not to innovate, but to improve a set of tactical principles by which older players are recruited and young players are trained.

Brighton’s ability to identify Fabian Hürzeler and take a risk immediately after working with a manager as famous as De Zerbi is a testament to excellent vision.

Formations and adaptability

Like Potter before him, Hürzeler is not married to a formation. That would be pointless anyway as constant positional changes are key to Brighton’s style of play.

However, when games are started, Hürzeler typically uses a traditional 4-2-3-1 formation. However, this is often changed to adapt to the type of football played by the team’s opponents. Brighton will switch to a 4-2-2 or 4-3-3 formation if necessary.

When setting up, the team usually switches to a group of three in a 4-3-3 formation. And if they are forced to defend in deep pressing against a stronger opponent, they will switch to a very compact 4-4-2.

Brighton in defense

Hürzeler operates according to the classic principle of Johann Cruyff, who is in many ways the father of modern football: “When defending, try to make yourself as small as possible, and when attacking, try to spread out and cover the field.”

Brighton’s formation is dynamic and compact in the defensive phase. Yes, like the best EPL teams, Brighton likes to win the ball quickly through aggressive counter-pressing. They often go man-to-man and use that aggressiveness to force mistakes and cause turnovers.

However, Hürzeler admits that this is a risky maneuver. It required exceptional discipline and well-rehearsed tactics to prevent faster and more technically skilled players from creating opportunities on counterattacks.

That’s what it means If necessary, Hürzeler will resort to low pressing in the 4-4-2. Players will try to utilize the space so as not to give opposing players the opportunity to operate between the lines.

This also means that none of Brighton’s players can be lazy. The two strikers are among the team’s most aggressive counter-pressing players. The wingers regularly drop deep to help the defense gain numerical superiority over the opposition.

Construction phase

Since his time as coach of St. Pauli in the 2nd Bundesliga, Fabian Hürzeler has been a coach who puts possession of the ball first. These were not radical ideas then or now. But they definitely required courage and first-class preparation.

Brighton in 2024 is a team that likes to build from the back and attack quickly vertically to create scoring opportunities as quickly as possible. However, this approach is tailored to the needs of opponents.

When put under pressure by tougher opponents, Brighton are forced to rely on the centre-backs at the start of the build-up phase. The Seagulls usually line up in a 4-3-3. The center backs and one of the pivots will drop further down. The full-backs and wingers move forward and try to create space.

If the opponent’s game allows it, Brighton’s players will try to dictate the tempo of the game, play centrally and control possession. Usually this means that the full-backs take a more central role. The central defenders will also move closer to the halfway line. Meanwhile, the midfielders will try to create compact lines between themselves and the defenders and attackers.

Players change positions frequently. Coach Gusztáv Sebes already pursued this approach in the famous Hungarian team of the 1950s. It was this innovation that stunned England, for example, and led to decisive Hungarian victories in London and Budapest.

This fluidity has two essential functions. Firstly, it causes confusion for the opposition players tasked with marking Brighton’s men.

Secondly, this is to ensure that Brighton always have one more man at every stage of the game. Typically this means engaging an additional player in a central area. This player can either become an additional passing option or force the defenders to leave their position and mark them.

Brighton in attack

When implementing his attack plans, Hürzeler relies on a mixture of experience and youthful enthusiasm. At the moment it works. Typically, Brighton have won by outscoring their opponents.

The 34-year-old striker Danny Welbeck scored the most goals. Kaoru Mitoma, who had another strong EPL season, was one of the team’s biggest scoring threats. But the young players and newcomers to the squad, Joao Pedro and Georginio Rutter, are getting their money’s worth.

How does Brighton attack? In counterplay, the team’s fluid movement is the key to attacking in the final third. Full-backs and attacking midfielders can swap roles or complement each other when it comes to quickly getting the ball into the opponent’s defensive area.

Welbeck will often act as a target. His job will be to link play with the attacking midfielders. He achieves this by dropping deeper and using his strength and tactical skills to receive the ball and pass it to a teammate. Typically, central midfielders or even the defenders move up and try to pressure central areas.

This constant movement means Brighton are always looking to have at least one more man against the opposition defenders. For example, when playing against a back four, the full-backs will run inwards, allowing the wingers to advance down the flanks.

These fluid movements also allow Brighton to attack well against teams who cannot defend the half spaces. Brazilian midfielder Joao Pedro was particularly effective in this role. He will run behind the defender, which will force a reaction from the opponent.

Brighton’s players were not only efficient at converting scoring opportunities and exploiting overloads. The team is well trained in corners and free kicks and often proves to be dangerous in these situations.

What’s next? Hürzeler and Brighton?

Fabian Hürzeler couldn’t have started his Premier League career better than him. At the time of writing, Brighton are on the verge of winning Champions League qualification against much more notable opponents. Will it stay that way?

Maybe not. But that may not be the point. Brighton have proven to be a very well-run club. Every time they have lost their charismatic manager or key players, they have found ways to quickly replace them. The club has a clear vision and identity and builds on it.

Fabian Hürzeler has not shown any naivety as a manager so far. He has spearheaded a series of sophisticated tactics that have managed to get the best out of Brighton’s players. As with Potter or De Zerbi, there is no telling how far the German coach can go.

Although the results are now likely to change, it is clear that Brighton have proven something very important. With a good and consistently implemented strategy, a Premier League club can ultimately change its ranking. In a football world where money seems to be everything these days, it’s refreshing to experience something different.