To understand Fabian Hürzeler’s journey to becoming the youngest permanent manager in the history of the Premier League, it is instructive to go back to 2016, when he was cutting his teeth as player-manager of the German fifth-tier side Pipinsried. Struggling to make ends meet after the bold decision to give up his professional playing career at the age of 23 to concentrate on coaching, he started working for an art dealer in Munich.
“When I sold one picture or one painting in a month, I was done,” Brighton’s manager says. “So I watched a lot of football games during this time. That was also a reason why I got fired. The owner recognised that I’m watching more football during working time instead of really working because we didn’t sell any more paintings. But that was also a good time for me.
