After relegation from the 1st Bundesliga, FC St. Pauli was left guessing for a long time about the future of Alexander Blessin, who was linked with a move to VfL Wolfsburg, among other things. However, the wolves decided on Verler’s successful coach Tobias Strobl, the Blessin question at Millerntor remained unanswered – until now.
As FC St. Pauli announced on Thursday evening, the Bundesliga relegated team will start the season with a new head coach after two years. After a “comprehensive internal analysis of the season that has just ended,” the traditional club from the Elbe came to the decision that they wanted to continue without head coach Alexander Blessin.
“We are grateful to Alex for his good and passionate work over the past two years,” Andreas Bornemann is quoted as saying in the club’s statement. President Oke Göttlich added that Blessin was “partly responsible for one of FC St. Pauli’s most successful sporting phases”. But they now want “a fresh start with full conviction,” said Bornemann.
It is still unclear who will inherit the 53-year-old. They say they want to settle this “promptly”. According to “kicker” and “Sky”, discussions are already underway in the background with a successor for the Stuttgart native. Accordingly, Marcel Rapp, who was fired from Holstein Kiel in February of this year, should take over the reins at Millerntor.
FC St. Pauli: Ex-Kiel coach under discussion as successor
The 47-year-old led the Störche into the Bundesliga in 2024 and was initially allowed to stay after direct relegation. When the next relegation to league three threatened, the Kiel team parted ways with Rapp, who was recently traded to league rivals Arminia Bielefeld, among others. According to “Sky”, an agreement between Rapp and FC St. Pauli is still pending.
If it is not possible to agree on some cooperation, then the traditional club from Hamburg also has other options, the report from the pay-TV broadcaster continues. Blessin asked for some time to think after the end of the season. The fact that the coach still couldn’t bring himself to make a commitment almost three weeks after the relegation apparently caused doubts to grow among those responsible.
After the neighborhood club’s return to the Bundesliga two years ago, Blessin came to FC St. Pauli from the Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise as the successor to promotion coach Fabian Hürzeler. After successfully staying in the league in the first year, the Kiezkickers were relegated in the second year under him as bottom of the table and with a harmless offensive.