In Mönchengladbach, where Borussia’s season has opened beneath a gathering sense of alarm, Alexander Blessin has been handed the task of lifting the club from the foot of the Bundesliga. Four matches have brought four defeats and no points, prompting the former St Pauli coach’s appointment on a contract running until 2028.
Blessin succeeds Eugen Polanski, who was dismissed on 13 September. Polanski’s assistant, Jan-Moritz Lichte, took temporary charge for Saturday’s match against Mainz, but Borussia’s difficult start continued in a 4-3 defeat.
A coach returning to the Bundesliga
The 52-year-old arrives after two seasons in charge of St Pauli in Hamburg. He replaced Fabian Hürzeler after Hürzeler guided the club into the Bundesliga before leaving for Brighton shortly afterwards.
Blessin kept St Pauli in Germany’s top division during his first campaign, but could not prevent relegation in the following season. He was removed from his post in June, ending his first spell as a senior head coach in German football.
His career has nevertheless taken him across several European football landscapes. Before St Pauli, Blessin spent eight years coaching youth teams at RB Leipzig after being recruited by Ralf Rangnick. He later led Belgian side KV Oostende between 2020 and 2022, had a brief spell with Genoa in Italy, and coached Union Saint-Gilloise from 2023 to 2024.
At Union, Blessin won the Belgian Cup, adding a significant piece of silverware to a coaching record now set to face its most immediate test in the Rhineland: turning Borussia Mönchengladbach’s winless opening into a route away from the Bundesliga basement.
