Tag: Fabian Hurzeler

St. Pauli, US-born coach Hurzeler secure promotion to Bundesliga

A 31-year-old coach born in Houston helped St. Pauli end a 13-year stay in the 2.Bundesliga

St. Pauli and its 31-year-old manager Fabian Hürzeler are going to the Bundesliga.

St. Pauli’s 3-1 win over VfL Osnabrück on Sunday sent the Hamburg-based club to the top of the 2.Bundesliga, and mathematically ensured Kiezkicker of a spot in the top flight for 2024-25.

A win next Sunday in the final round of league matches would guarantee the top spot in the division, but the celebrations broke out with 33 games played, as St. Pauli’s victory moved the club six points clear of having to go through a promotion playoff.

Any worries about coming up short were settled by a double from Dapo Afolayan, with Marcel Hartel notching a third in the 68th minute. Lars Kehl’s stoppage-time penalty for Osnabrück did nothing to dampen a raucous atmosphere at Millerntor-Stadion, which celebrated by flooding the pitch en masse.

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for a club that was struggling badly just 18 months ago.

Hürzeler — a former Bayern Munich academy player born in Houston — was appointed as interim manager on December 6, 2022, with St. Pauli heading into the German winter break winless in six outings and on the edge of the relegation zone.

Hürzeler began his fledgling career as a head coach with a 1-0 win at 1.FC Nürnberg when play resumed, and has hardly looked back. St. Pauli would win the first 10 games after the young manager took over, finishing the season on a 13W-2D-2L run that pushed the club up to fifth place.

At one point, Kiezkicker went unbeaten from April 29, 2023 to February 10, 2024, a run of 29 matches in league and cup play.

The promotion snaps a 13-year stay in the 2.Bundesliga, and this time around St. Pauli will be hoping to stick around at the top of the German pyramid a bit longer. Both of its previous promotions to the Bundesliga saw the club, famous worldwide for its openly left-wing politics and pirate iconography, relegated after just one season.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Knock knock knocking on the USMNT’s door

The USMNT has to be feeling pretty good about its depth right now

The U.S. men’s national team has to feel pretty good about its depth right now.

All across Europe, a host of players who didn’t make the World Cup squad are showing they have what it takes to feature for the USMNT, which was again apparent this weekend.

The striker position, which has been a concern for years, has a (very theoretical!) savior possibly en route in the form of Folarin Balogun, but Daryl Dike and Ricardo Pepi keep showing this season they should be in the USMNT mix as well.

That duo, along with some other names who could be coming soon to a U.S. roster near you, features in this week’s Five, along with a coach who could someday be leading them.