Brighton and Hove Albion boss Fabian Hürzeler has revealed how a bingo night was part of the planning that led to their win over Manchester City.
BILD cover comments from the Brighton boss today after he appeared on their Phrasenmäher podcast this week.
The subject of the win over Manchester City before the international break was naturally something they wanted to discuss.
The Seagulls were 2-1 winners over the Premier League champions 11 days ago, with goals from Joao Pedro and Matt O’Riley securing all three points after Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the 23rd minute.
It was the latest big moment of what is becoming an exciting first season under Hürzeler, who has Brighton sixth in the table on 19 points, level with Chelsea and Arsenal in third and fourth.
That win over Manchester City was a real confirmation of the talent in the squad and upward trajectory under Hürzeler.
He was certainly delighted and has now revealed that a game of bingo the night before the game was key to the process.
“Of course, a win against Pep is something special because he revolutionised football with his ideas and achieved something unique,” he said.
“It shows that we can challenge the establishment. But above all, I’m proud of my staff and the players.
“A few days before the game, thanks to my assistant coach Jonas Scheuermann, we had a bingo night with the staff and employees – including the kitchen and the cleaning staff. These evenings are extremely important for me to understand the employees and make them feel that they are all part of the success.”
While Hürzeler may have gotten the better of Pep Guardiola on their first meeting, that doesn’t mean he isn’t ready to keep learning from the Spanish boss.
The Manchester City boss is undoubtedly one of the greatest managers in the history of football, and Hürzeler was more than happy to take advice from him when they spoke before the season started.
“I have a motto and that is: You can look further on the shoulders of giants! I asked Pep what the key is to winning games in the Premier League,” he added.
“His answer was: You have to control your opponent’s switching behaviour! That totally turned out to be true. His second message was: You have to keep developing your game idea. Pep is a master at this.”
