New Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler can prove that age isn't a factor in becoming a top-level coach.
That is according to Matthew Karagich, who helps run the 2. Bundesliga Podcast and has closely followed the 31-year-old's progress at former team St. Pauli.
Hurzeler signed a three-year deal at the Amex in June and Karagich, who is also a German football expert at beIN SPORTS Australia, has backed him to thrive at Albion.
"He is young, ambitious, and someone with a big desire to succeed. There are similar cultural elements with Brighton and St. Pauli. While St. Pauli is very punk rock, I have no doubts Hurzeler will fit right in at Brighton," he said.
"The sky is the limit for Hurzeler. He can build something special like his predecessors Roberto De Zerbi and Graham Potter and disprove the stigma of age being a factor when it comes to being a coach at the top level."
So, why should expectations for the former Germany Under-19 international - who is the youngest ever full time Premier League head coach - be so high?
When he became St. Pauli's head coach in the winter break of the 2022/23 season, after stepping up from his assistant manager role under Timo Schultz, Kiezkicker were 15th in the table.
They won 13 of their 17 remaining matches that season to finish fourth. Then in a division with German giants such as Schalke, Hertha Berlin, and Hamburger SV, they won 2. Bundesliga to return to the top-flight for the first time in 13 years.
Tim Ecksteen, a writer and podcaster at St. Pauli fan outlet MillernTon, said, "He implemented a brave and dominant idea of football including a lot of rotation during the build-up play on the pitch.
"Sometimes, they have tried distinctly different build-up ways to see what fits best. This looked quite chaotic, especially for the opponents. However, players stated they then knew exactly what to do in every situation. This led to a really confident team."
Karagich added, "Hurzeler has done a mighty job to turn around a team that was languishing above the relegation zone to league champions in just 18 months."
As a player, Hurzeler worked his way up the youth ranks at Bayern Munich, but never graduated to the first-team. Despite that, the famous 'Bayern Munich DNA' can be seen in the way St. Pauli played under him.
"A Hurzeler team plays in a 3-4-3 formation. It’s a flat midfield four with the wide players more often than not being attacking full-backs. He likes his goalkeeper to be able to play with the ball. Where possible, Hurzeler likes to get the ball to the wingers, and wide midfielders can overlap and create those overloads," said Karagich.
"This was very prominent with the Manolis Saliakas and Dapo Afolayan combination. Hurzeler does display elements of the Bayern DNA which is about being possession-based and dictating the game. Overall, his teams are flexible, and having players that can play multiple positions helps."
Ecksteen added, "He demands a lot of his players. The intensity of the training under him is very high. His St. Pauli team had the highest running statistics, including intensive runs, in the league - which is quite unusual for a team with the third-highest possession this season."
Much like his predecessor at Brighton, Hurzeler, who has cited De Zerbi and especially Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini as inspirations, is a football fanatic. His attention to detail is something special.
"When he joined St. Pauli as Schultz's assistant in 2020, he was focused on analysing the opponent's playing style. When he became head coach, aged 29, he said he was still watching every single 2. Bundesliga game," said Ecksteen.
"You could ask him anything about the skillset of SV Sandhausen's benched players - he knew everything. He is simply addicted to football. It is not a job, it's pure passion for him.
"If he can continue to influence players, if he still takes risks, stays brave, then he might also be able to implement one of the most innovative playing styles I've ever seen."