Brighton and Hove Albion manager Fabian Hürzeler has insisted he doesn’t believe he is being targeted by referees, as he tops the charts for cards handed to managers.
The Brighton boss has been speaking to Hamburger Abendblatt about his time in Brighton so far and his growing tally of yellow cards this season.
It’s been a superb first season for the German boss at Brighton, with them currently competing for a place in Europe next season, sitting 7th in the Premier League and just two points behind Chelsea in 4th.
It’s not always been a smooth ride for the Seagulls this season, particularly Hürzeler on the sidelines, with him picking up four yellow cards and one red card thanks to his angry reactions on the sidelines in games.
That puts him at the top of those particular charts, with only Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola having picked up the same amount of yellows this season.
Hürzeler isn’t very impressed by that record but insists, when asked, that he is not being targeted by referees.
“I do not like to cite these statistics,” he said.
“Nevertheless, I am and remain a very emotional coach who is passionately supporting his team. I do not see any major differences from the treatment, the referees are equally trained and distribute the yellow cards to me to myself.
“I’m someone who likes stress and knows that he’s part of the business. I collect the yellow cards due to my passion for my team.”
Moving from Germany, where he was still relatively inexperienced with St Pauli, to the Premier League has meant a year of adaptation for Hürzeler this season.
He’s done that to great success so far, slotting in seamlessly to Brighton’s set up and building on the work previously done by the likes of Roberto de Zerbi.
There’s been plenty of new things to learn, though, and he admits the Seagulls’ data driven approach was certainly different for him.
“The data-based approach was something new for me,” he added.
“This is a trend that will certainly be of great importance in the future. The support of the management makes it relatively easy for me to adapt to the demands to grow as a personality and coach. I get the feeling that I can build something. This is very important for every coach.”
The Brighton boss has largely continued where he left off at St. Pauli, a club which he took to the Bundesliga and very much built in his image during his time there.
That’s harder to do at a club like Brighton, who are now an established Premier League side with a clear data driven approach that’s worked very effectively for them over the last decade.
Few would see comparisons between two such sides but Hürzeler believes there are plenty of comparisons.
“I would say that the clubs are very similar,” he concluded.
“This starts with the feeling of us that the characters always convey the feeling of trust. That is not self-evident for me. Brighton offers me an environment where it is fun to work, even though it is not a comfort zone.
“Of course, we have more financial resources in the Premier League to buy players. But in the end, it’s about what cohesion you create to want to be successful in spirit and intrinsic motivation.
“That was also at St. Pauli from the beginning my premise that we want to be not only in the headlines for our political action and the values we stand for, but also for sporting success.”
