It was an otherwise typical Thursday at Cobham as a few reporters took turns posing seemingly innocuous questions to Enzo Maresca about Chelsea’s upcoming match against Brighton.

Then Fabian Hurzeler’s name surfaced in the discussion. Maresca’s initial response about his 32-year-old counterpart was unusually aloof. Curious, we probed further, repeatedly.

Maresca was asked four times to share his thoughts on Hurzeler, and each time he refrained from offering any compliments, instead referring to his predecessor Roberto De Zerbi as a ‘top manager’.

Brighton triumphed 3-0 at the Amex Stadium the following night, with that February 14 victory marking the last occasion these two strategists faced off in a technical area before their reunion on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.

In terms of rivalries, it is far from the likes of Brian Clough and Don Revie. Maresca was notably more congenial when discussing Hurzeler at his pre-Brighton press conference on Friday, noting their success since he took charge.

However, Maresca is not the only coach who seems to have clashed with Hurzeler. There is tension elsewhere as well. Just last month, Maresca’s friend Pep Guardiola refused to shake Hurzeler’s hand following Manchester City’s 2-1 loss at Brighton.

While Maresca will tell you he has no personal problem with his German opposite number, he is not likely to be launching the Hurzeler Fan Club any time soon. The natural question is: why?

Daily Mail Sport checked back in with sources close to Maresca this week for answers. We were told that the February frostiness at Cobham was mainly out of respect for De Zerbi, who is now the manager of Marseille in France and whose Ligue 1 fixture this weekend happens to fall away at Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg.

Maresca was born in Pontecagnano Faiano in the south of Italy, and De Zerbi in Brescia in the north, but they met in AC Milan’s youth set-up, playing together in attacking midfield.

Theirs is a friendship spanning three decades and one which has stood the test of time in spite of their careers, first as players and then as coaches, seldom intertwining.

When De Zerbi had the opportunity to take over as manager of Brighton in 2022, for example, he phoned Maresca for advice on entering English football, as he was assisting Guardiola at City at the time.

When Maresca wanted to sign Joao Pedro from Brighton over the summer, he called De Zerbi for an honest appraisal of the striker whom he had signed from Watford in 2023.

It is understood Maresca believes, had De Zerbi remained at Brighton rather than being succeeded by Hurzeler, his fellow Italian would have continued his good work. ‘Loyalty’ was one word used when we made enquiries this week on Maresca’s unusual answers from seven months ago, and you do not need to be Don Corleone to know that ‘lealta’ can be strong among Italians.

But then it is hard not to wonder whether that alone was enough to warrant such iciness, especially as Maresca was complimentary before his very first clash with Hurzeler in September 2024. 

The Chelsea manager told us he was doing ‘fantastic’ at Brighton at the time, adding he had studied the way St Pauli played under him when they won Germany’s second division.

Chelsea beat Brighton 4-2 with Cole Palmer scoring all four of their goals in the first half at Stamford Bridge. Maresca and Hurzeler did not entirely see eye to eye during that clash, with fourth official David Webb overseeing the odd squabble, but that was expected.

Much like his tattoos, Hurzeler wears his heart on his sleeve, for he is a competitor. He was the same as a midfielder, receiving 46 yellow cards and six reds in 91 games for Pipinsried.

One of those dismissals came when he was player-manager of the German side at 24 years old in an away game with Bayern Munich II. He scored the only goal in a 1-0 win, but was then shown a second yellow and got into a spat with his opposing head coach Tim Walter, who accused Hurzeler of ‘overestimating himself’ during his post-match media duties. Apparently the two did not shake hands when they met six years later as managers of St Pauli and Hamburg.

By Hurzeler’s own admission, those who played against him would probably say he was an ‘a***hole’. He was not mild mannered then, and is hardly angelic now, with opposition benches less than pleased when his passion, and that of his Brighton assistants, leads to calls for their players to be carded. It is that excitability which has earned Hurzeler the odd booking of his own.

As one well-placed refereeing source told Daily Mail Sport this week when asked about Hurzeler: ‘He can be very excitable and challenges referees’ decision most weeks and that can upset opposition managers. He’s 32. 

‘He accepts that he struggles to control his emotional behaviour which upsets other coaches and officials and this is a part of growing up. 

‘As he gains more experience as a coach, his passion will be more controlled and be accepted more by his peers.’

There is nothing wrong with authenticity in the technical area. If anything, a little bullishness is needed at Hurzeler’s age, lest he be seen as a guppy swimming with sharks. 

Accusations of arrogance be damned, he is determined to prove he belongs at this level after Brighton gave him the opportunity. He did not come to the Premier League to make friends. He came here to win.

Which is precisely what he did when he next faced Maresca in the FA Cup in February 2025. When Brighton took their 2-1 lead through Kaoru Mitoma, Hurzeler did not celebrate overzealously, though there were some touchline antics. 

That included encroaching in Palmer’s space when he was trying to take a throw-in deep into stoppage time, which raised an eyebrow or two. 

Hurzeler was animated in the patrolling of his area at the Amex. He was determined to bounce back from losing 7-0 to Nottingham Forest the week before, and did so.

Chelsea had to travel to Brighton again less than a week later, this time in the Premier League, and Maresca previewed the trip in that frosty press conference.

Perhaps the loss was still raw in Maresca’s mind, but there was more of the same in their next match. For example, when Marc Cucurella chopped down Yankuba Minteh after 10 minutes, Hurzeler called for a card. 

He did not get it, but he did get Minteh scoring twice in a 3-0 win, as Brighton’s official account tweeted a full-time jab at Maresca: ‘Fabian Hurzeler. Top manager.’

Ask Brighton fans – as we did this week to gauge opinions – and they will tell you Hurzeler’s liveliness on the touchline is liked. ‘Personally I feel he (Maresca) should just focus on his team rather than what Fabian is up to with ours,’ one replied.

Seagulls supporters are conflicted on Hurzeler’s football currently, however, and baffled by how he has been responding to defeats and draws, and insisting that his side deserved more than they got.

Brighton have won only one out of five in the Premier League heading into this clash with Chelsea, at which Hurzeler is unlikely to receive an invite into Maresca’s office for a glass of red afterwards.