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Alexander Blessin

Alexander Blessin (born 28 May 1973) is a German professional football manager who is currently the head coach of FC St. Pauli.

Alexander Blessin
Personal information
Full name Alexander Matthias Blessin
Date of birth 28 May 1973 (1973-05-28) (age 51)
Place of birth Stuttgart, West Germany
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 FC St. Pauli (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1995 TSV Georgii Allianz Stuttgart [de][1]
1995–1996 SV Bonlanden
1996–1997 TSF Ditzingen[2] 30 (9)
1997–1999[4] VfB Stuttgart[3] 7 (0)
1999–2001 Stuttgarter Kickers[4] 46 (6)
2001–2002[6] Antalyaspor[5] 1 (0)
2002[7] Wacker Burghausen[6] 10 (1)
2002–2003[9] 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig[8] 33 (6)
2003–2005 SC Pfullendorf[9] 65 (21)
2005–2006 1899 Hoffenheim[10] 34 (7)
2006–2008[12] Sportfreunde Siegen[11] 63 (14)
2008–2009[14] Jahn Regensburg[13] 16 (0)
2009–2010 SSV Reutlingen[15] 20 (1)
2010–2012[17] SV Bonlanden[16]
Managerial career
2012–2018 RB Leipzig (U17)
2018–2020 RB Leipzig (U19)
2020–2022 KV Oostende
2022 Genoa
2023–2024 Union SG
2024– FC St. Pauli
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Blessin started his senior career with TSV Georgii Allianz Stuttgart. In 2001, he signed for Antalyaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig, where he made one league appearance.[18] After that, he played for German clubs Wacker Burghausen, Lokomotive Leipzig, SC Pfullendorf, 1899 Hoffenheim, Sportfreunde Siegen, Jahn Regensburg, SSV Reutlingen, and SV Bonlanden before retiring in 2012.

Coaching career

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Following his retirement as an active player, Blessin joined RB Leipzig as a youth coach in 2012. He left Leipzig in 2020 to accept an offer as the new manager of Oostende in the Belgian First Division A.[19]

He completed his first season with Oostende in fifth place, which led to him being linked to clubs such as Sheffield United and Celtic, as well as being named manager of the year in the Belgian top flight.[20][21]

On 19 January 2022, he was hired by Serie A club Genoa as the club's new head coach under a two-and-a-half-year contract, after the Italian club paid a fixed fee to activate a buyout clause present in Blessin's contract with Oostende.[22]

After failing to save Genoa from relegation, Blessin was confirmed in charge of the club for the 2022–23 Serie B season, with the goal to lead the Rossoblu promptly back to Serie A. On 6 December 2022, after a string of negative results, Blessin was dismissed from his role with immediate effect.[23][24]

In July 2023, Blessin became head coach of Belgian side Union SG.[25] He led the club to finish top of the 2023–24 regular season, 8 points ahead of second-placed rival Anderlecht.[26] On 9 May 2024, Union SG won the Belgian Cup final 1–0 against Royal Antwerp for the first time after 110 years.[27]

In summer of 2024, he moved to FC St. Pauli.[28]

Managerial record

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As of match played 9 November 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
KV Oostende 7 June 2020 19 January 2022 65 26 11 28 040.00
Genoa 19 January 2022 6 December 2022 33 11 12 10 033.33
Union SG 3 July 2023 27 June 2024 58 36 12 10 062.07
FC St. Pauli 1 July 2024 present 12 3 2 7 025.00
Total 168 76 37 55 045.24

Honours

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Union SG

Individual

References

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  1. ^ Saison 1994/95 SG Untertürkheim
  2. ^ Große Namen TSF Kitzingen
  3. ^ Die Rückennummern beim VfB Rund um den Brustring
  4. ^ a b July 1999 transfers Global Soccer Transfers
  5. ^ Yabancı futbolcu cenneti Türkiye NTV
  6. ^ a b Transfers Jan.2002 Global Soccer Transfers
  7. ^ Released Players Quarter II 2002 Global Soccer Transfers
  8. ^ Transfers Jul.2002 Global Soccer Transfers
  9. ^ a b Die Vereine der Regionalliga Süd vor der Saison Archived 18 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine Main-Post
  10. ^ Zwei neue Angreifer Archived 23 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Gmünder Tagespost
  11. ^ Zwei Neue für Siegen Transfermarkt
  12. ^ Wechselkarussell bei Drittligisten dreht sich Frankfurter Rundschau
  13. ^ Zweijahresvertrag: Blessin kommt zum SSV Jahn Archived 26 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine Mittelbayerische
  14. ^ Die Wechselbörse im Winter SPOX.com
  15. ^ Blessin geht nach Reutlingen Archived 1 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine Mittelbayerische
  16. ^ FC Wangen hat in Bonlanden nichts zu verlieren Schwäbische
  17. ^ VERBANDSLIGA: WER KAM - WER GING Archived 11 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine Südwest Presse Online
  18. ^ TFF Profile
  19. ^ "ALEXANDER BLESSIN È IL NUOVO ALLENATORE" (in Italian). Genoa C.F.C. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  20. ^ "'VERY PROUD': MANAGER LINKED WITH RANGERS WINS COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD". HITC. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Sheffield United-linked manager Alexander Blessin named coach of year in Belgium after transforming Oostende's fortunes". The Star. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Genoa a sorpresa, il nuovo allenatore è Blessin: "Qui per un progetto a lungo termine"". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  23. ^ "COMUNICATO STAMPA". Genoa Cricket and Football Club (in Italian). 6 December 2022. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Genoa, Alexander Blessin esonerato. Alberto Gilardino tecnico ad interim" (in Italian). TuttoMercatoWeb. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  25. ^ "Alexander Blessin is de nieuwe coach van Union Saint-Gilloise" (in Dutch). BRUZZ. 3 July 2023.
  26. ^ "How Brighton's sister club turned into the 'cheat code' of European football". The Independent. 29 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Union Saint-Gilloise end 110-year wait for Belgian Cup success". Reuters. 9 May 2024.
  28. ^ "Alexander Blessin wird neuer Cheftrainer des FC St. Pauli". FC St. Pauli. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  29. ^ "Union valt in de prijzen op Pro League Awards: Puertas Speler van het Jaar, Blessin beste coach". Sporza (in Dutch). 27 May 2024.
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