Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hurzeler has revealed he brought a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter into training to help his side improve their performance on set-pieces, as he seeks to shed the club's reputation for being 'too nice'.
Ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Newcastle United, Hurzeler explained the unconventional approach. 'We brought him in because I think we spoke a lot about set-pieces, about blocking, new trends in the Premier League. We tried to adapt to it as well,' he said.
'I don't always want to be known as a club that is nice. In certain moments you have to be quite resilient in personal duels and therefore there are different ways of being resilient.'
The Brighton boss emphasised the parallels between football and MMA. 'There are different ways of using a block, different techniques to win one against one duels, especially at set-pieces. And an MMA fighter always has one-against-one duels. He always needs to find a way to beat his opponent and therefore we try to get ideas from other sports and that was an idea we used in quite an effective way.'
As reported by the Brighton Argus, Hurzeler added: 'As a club, we were never known as being so dominant at set-pieces. We need to find ways that we can't be beaten that easily when taller teams, taller opponents will face us, and that's quite similar to what we face against Newcastle. A very physical team. We might not be that physical regarding our height but there are always ways you can defend and attack.'
This is not the first time Hurzeler has incorporated fighters into his training methods. Last July, British welterweight boxer and Seagulls fan Harlem Eubank revealed that Hurzeler had trained alongside him, praising the manager. 'I've done a couple (of sessions) with him and his family, he's a great guy and an incredible manager. He can throw hands a little bit, boxing training is a great way to get fit, it's great whether it's fighting or fitness,' Eubank said.
