Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hürzeler was interviewed on the Men in Blazers show, where he reflected on the team's 3-0 victory over Arsenal. He also discussed the team's playing philosophy, the development of Chema Andrés and Malik Yalcouyé, and how to maintain consistent performance to challenge traditional Premier League powerhouses in the long term.
Your Brighton & Hove Albion team dominated the reigning champions Arsenal in pressing and duels, crushing them 3-0. Can you describe what that victory meant to you in one word?
I think it's difficult to describe it in just one word, because at the end of the game, I was really, really proud. I think "proud" might describe how I felt. I was proud of the team's overall performance, proud of the players' individual performances, and proud of the work and effort my staff put in over these past few weeks. We just went through a very intense few weeks, especially this week, playing away against Coventry, then away against Manchester United, and then coming back home. Winning the game on Brighton & Hove Albion's 125th anniversary was truly a fantastic day. So, I'm genuinely proud of the players' performance and proud of the effort and contributions from my staff.
I'd like to delve deeper into that Arsenal match to understand how meticulously you plan your games. Fabian, when you're preparing a tactical plan for such a strong, tactically rich, and flexible team, is there a sudden moment of inspiration during the week's preparation where you pinpoint a specific weakness to exploit, and feel very confident about it? Or do you gradually develop a series of judgments and tactical ideas that can only be tested during the match?
The main thing is indeed that we have a saying: "Focus on ourselves." I think it's about believing in our style of play and believing in our principles. If you emphasize these principles repeatedly from preseason, implement them consistently in every preseason game, and stick to them once the season starts, then these things gradually become routine for the players, becoming their habits.
If you're always trying to change things, always changing your style of play, your formation, and other aspects, then the players will never truly develop those habits and will never truly build trust and confidence in our principles and style of play. So, I believe what's truly important is to focus on ourselves, on how we can overpower our opponents with our playing style, and how we can run more and put in more effort than them.
Of course, when facing a team like Arsenal, who are arguably one of the best teams in the world, you need to make some adjustments in the details, adapt to the opponent, and find some matchups that might help you. But overall, I want the players to believe in themselves and in their teammates.
Because when we go into such games, we talk a lot about tactics and game plans, but for me, a lot of it still comes down to mentality. What kind of mentality do you bring into the game? Does everyone feel: "Yes, we can beat them"? If anyone has doubts or is afraid to do something, they can't give their all.
So, in my opinion, the most important thing is that everyone's mindset must be aligned. Everyone must have the mentality of: "I can beat my opponent, I can win my one-on-one duels." That way, everyone can collectively build this belief and then take it into the game and deliver such a performance. But the challenge we face now is: this performance was exceptionally good, and we must make such performances the norm.
So, ultimately, it's about being fearless and, first and foremost, believing in yourself. But you mentioned that you do look for subtle weaknesses in opponents. What weaknesses did you identify in Arsenal for that match?
It's difficult to pinpoint one specific weakness when facing one of the best teams in the league. I think what's truly important is the message we convey to the players: we have to perform well in every aspect of the game.
We have to defend set pieces well, and we have to attack set pieces well. We have to perform well when we have the ball, and we have to perform well when we don't have the ball. Because they can beat you in any aspect of the game. They are excellent and have a high level in every facet of play. So, for us, the question is: how can we perform well in every aspect of the game? Therefore, sometimes we need to make adjustments in some details. For example, how should we set up our starting XI? Do we have enough height on the pitch?
How should we set up our starting XI? Do we have enough players who can run more and put in more effort than the opponent? These are small details where we can adapt and make some adjustments based on the opponent. But overall, I think it ultimately comes back to this: we have to deal with Arsenal's strengths in every aspect of the game.
In your last match against Arsenal, the 0-1 defeat in March, you had the statistical advantage. After the game, you very frankly expressed your disappointment to the media: "Only one team wanted to play football today." Given that, does this victory, as the first team to beat the reigning champions this season, feel even more satisfying when the final whistle blew?
I think we shouldn't judge the past anymore. The past is the past, and this game is from another season, and we're facing a different Arsenal. I am someone who sticks to my opinions. I believe it's important to express your opinions in our industry. I don't want to hide my opinions.
But expressing my opinion doesn't mean I don't respect the opposing manager or the opposing club. So, I have great respect for Arsenal's achievements, especially last season. They deserved the championship. I think Mikel Arteta and his team did an outstanding job. So, I was one of the first people to congratulate him on that achievement.
But on the other hand, of course, I am also someone who is willing to express my thoughts and has my own opinions. I certainly won't hide them. However, you can't compare these two games. They are completely different. New situation, new game, new game plan. I also fielded new players on the pitch. So, it would be unfair to judge the past and let it influence this current game. Therefore, we really try to separate these things.
One player who truly made a name for himself in this match is 21-year-old Spanish player Chema Andrés. Watching him disrupt opponent attacks, dictate the tempo, and make those clever passes, people have nicknamed him "Little Rodri." Given Chema's abilities on the pitch, is such praise and comparison appropriate?
I think it might be a little unfair to Rodri himself. Because he is one of the best players in the world, or one of the best, and Chema is just starting his career. Of course, they seem to have some similar movements, similar playing styles, and similar backgrounds, both coming from Spain. So, they certainly have some things in common.
But I think Chema knows he has a long way to go to reach Rodri's level. However, he has that intrinsic motivation to reach that height. He also possesses the intelligence and understanding of the game required to reach that height. But we are just starting this journey now, and we need to give him the right support to help him reach his highest level. He still has a lot to improve, and so does the whole team.
Chema has had a good start. He had some good plays in the game and put in a very good performance. But the challenge now is, can he make such performances the norm? This is the challenge our entire team must face, what we must strive for, and what we must focus on now.
Brighton & Hove Albion also has another excellent young player unleashing his talent, the very energetic 20-year-old Malik Yalcouyé. His journey is incredible. Two years ago, he was playing in Sweden. Last year, he was on loan at Swansea, and now he's scoring against Chelsea. Brighton & Hove Albion has always done exceptionally well in this regard; you not only discover talent but also unlock their potential and elevate their game once they arrive. Taking Malik as an example, as a head coach, what's the secret to quickly igniting a player's innate talent?
Firstly, it's our data-driven approach to recruitment. I believe we have one of the best recruitment systems in the world, thanks to our owner. Secondly, we should never forget that we do extensive research into a player's character.
What we usually see is a player's performance on the pitch, but behind that player is a flesh-and-blood person. We do extensive research into his character. For us, the most important thing is whether he has that intrinsic motivation to improve every day.
So, when he comes to our training ground, he must arrive with this motivation: "I want to improve every day. When I leave here today, I want to be better than when I walked in." The third point, I think, what really stands out here is the alignment between all departments.
Alignment in nutrition management, alignment in sleep management, alignment in the analysis of training sessions, including the work of the medical and physical departments—everything needs to be aligned. We all work around the individual development of the player, striving in the same direction. That way, you can achieve results and develop players very well, just as we are seeing with Malik now.
Fabian, there's a lot of discussion and excitement in the Premier League surrounding two teams starting with the letter B: Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford. You have excellent operations and coaching. You've proven that you have the ability to beat one of the traditional top six on any given weekend. You also said you want to make such performances the norm. Consistency is the challenge to reaching the next level. In such a financially robust league, what quality does Brighton & Hove Albion need most now to break into the top four? Is it really possible?
Consistency. You've already mentioned it in your question. I think the most important thing is to make the performance we just delivered, which we talked about against Arsenal, the norm. How do you make it the norm? By building that consistency.
And I believe consistency is built through daily actions. If you make the right decisions every day, you develop the right habits. If you have the right habits on and off the pitch, you can build consistency. So, I think that will be the main challenge. You can't just perform at your highest level against strong teams. Even when facing teams that aren't strong, you still need to play at your highest level and meet the highest standards.
I think that will be our biggest challenge. If you want to challenge those traditional powerhouses in the long term, you have to achieve that in terms of consistency.
Fabian, if you could only choose one player to form a complete starting XI of 11 of him, playing every position on the pitch, who would you choose and why?
Okay, we just talked about Rodri, so I would choose Rodri. Why? Because I think he just possesses that understanding of the game.
If you look at my squad, Pascal Gross is a bit similar. They just understand the game of football. They don't have to be the fastest players, but they are the smartest players. I think when you are smart enough, you are already one step ahead. A quick mind doesn't require you to be the fastest runner. I think that's crucial. So, players who understand the game so well, who can quickly form an idea and translate it into action on the pitch—I really enjoy working with them. Because they make the team better, and they make all their teammates around them better.
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