Coach urges development
This season, FC St. Pauli has achieved what only five teams in the single-track 2nd Bundesliga have achieved before: a complete first half of the season without defeat. Fabian Hürzeler, the coach responsible for this, had already caused a stir and had a record winning streak with his “Kiezkickers” in the second half of the previous season. Now sports director Andreas Bornemann is pushing for long-term plans to be made with the 30-year-old, which doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment.
“Clarity is good for everyone,” Bornemann said on Monday. “Fabian has to be clear with his people, with whom he communicates more closely and more intimately, what his path, his idea, is for him in his career.” According to consistent media reports, Hürzeler’s contract with FCSP expires after the end of this season. Bornemann emphasized that the goal is “to expand cooperation.”
Hürzeler was promoted from assistant to head coach in December 2022. He took over St. Pauli in 15th place in the table. With an extremely successful second half of the season, including a record series of ten wins in a row, he led the club to fifth place in the table last season. Currently, after a long period as league leaders, Hamburg have fallen to second place despite being undefeated in the first half of the season. A direct promotion place at the end of the half series was probably not necessarily planned for at the Millerntor in the center of Hamburg before the season.
After 34 games: Hürzeler’s haul with St. Pauli has only been exceeded twice
It is all the more understandable that Bornemann is now increasing the pressure. “The decision for him was an absolute stroke of luck,” explained Bornemann in an interview with Transfermarkt in November. “But St. Pauli is also a stroke of luck for Fabian.” After 34 league and three cup games since Hürzeler took over, the balance could hardly be more impressive. Hürzeler’s team has only left the pitch as losers twice in all that time since January of this year. The score of 74 points in the 2nd Bundesliga has rarely been exceeded by other coaches in the comparable period, i.e. their first 34 games. Only Ralf Rangnick in Hannover (2001/02) and Jos Luhukay at Hertha BSC (2012/13) scored one and two points more respectively after taking office as Hürzeler at St. Pauli.
Hürzeler also commented on the contract negotiations in a media round on Monday. “For me it’s never about prestige, about money, about all the issues,” he said. “The most important thing for me at the moment is development. And not just the development of the individual players, the team, the club – but of course also of me personally, that I am in an environment where I can develop further.” He knows what he has at St. Pauli, said the coach . Bornemann was also convinced that “we can still be a good address for him for the next steps.”
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