Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler says he has brought in a mixed martial arts fighter into training to help his side on set-pieces – to stop his side being thought of as too nice.
The MMA fighter is believed to have been Germany’s Christian Eckerlin, who is known as ‘The King of Frankfurt’.
Ahead of Saturday’s clash with Newcastle, Hurzeler said: ‘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.
‘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.
‘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.
Brighton brought in an MMA fighter into training to help their defending of set pieces
The MMA fighter is believed to have been Christian Eckerlin, known as the ‘King of Frankfurt’
Fabian Hurzeler confirmed the move with the Brighton boss hoping it helped them to win more 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.’
It is not the first time the Brighton boss has mixed it with fighters.
Last July, British welterweight boxer – and Seagulls fan – Harlem Eubank revealed Hurzeler had done some training alongside him, and spoke glowingly of the boss.
‘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.’
