Fabian Hürzeler, the 30-year-old coach of FC St. Pauli, has achieved an impressive feat by winning seven matches in a row in the second division. This feat was also accomplished last season by Ole Werner, who guided Werder Bremen to direct promotion after taking over as coach before the 16th matchday.
The parallels between Hürzeler and Werner are striking. Both coaches managed to lead their respective teams up the table with seven consecutive wins, although Werder Bremen had a more comfortable lead with 26 points at the start of the second half of the season compared to St. Pauli’s 17 points.
Despite this, Hürzeler has managed to close the gap on the top trio of teams by winning seven of his first seven matches in charge. He has made up eight points on Darmstadt and seven points each on HSV and Heidenheim, who are currently in the top three positions.
If Hürzeler’s team can continue their winning streak and beat Sandhausen on Sunday, he will set a new record for a coach taking over midway through a season. This would be an impressive achievement for a young coach like Hürzeler.
However, he can take heart from the fact that even the great Jürgen Klopp struggled in his first seven matches as a coach with Mainz 05 in 2001, winning six and drawing one. This shows that sometimes it takes time to get results and build a winning team.
Overall, Hürzeler’s impressive start to his tenure at FC St. Pauli bodes well for the team’s future, and fans will be hoping that he can continue to build on this early success and lead the team towards promotion to the Bundesliga.
