Blessin Appointed Borussia Mönchengladbach Head Coach on Deal Through 2028

The former St. Pauli boss takes over a winless Gladbach side sitting bottom of the Bundesliga and will be unveiled Wednesday alongside sporting director Rouven Schröder.

Borussia Mönchengladbach have named Alexander Blessin as their new head coach, signing the 53-year-old to a contract running through 2028. The club confirmed the appointment on Tuesday, and Blessin will be formally presented with sporting director Rouven Schröder on Wednesday afternoon.

Blessin returns to the Bundesliga just four months after being relegated with FC St. Pauli, whom he led following their 2024 promotion. His first season in charge produced a solid defensive record of 41 goals conceded, second best in the league behind Bayern Munich, but the club went down the following year, finishing bottom after a late-season collapse that yielded only two points from their final eight matches.

He takes over from Eugen Polanski, who was dismissed after a 5-0 loss at Freiburg on Matchday 3, with Jan-Moritz Lichte having since served as interim coach. Gladbach enter the international break bottom of the table, still without a point, and their 16 goals conceded equal the Bundesliga record through four matchdays.

Blessin becomes the club's fifth permanent head coach since Marco Rose left for Borussia Dortmund in 2021. Before St. Pauli, he spent eight years coaching in RB Leipzig's academy and held senior roles with KV Oostende, Genoa, and Union Saint-Gilloise, where he won the Belgian Cup and twice earned Belgium's Coach of the Year award.

His first match in charge comes after the international break, away at Rhine rivals 1. FC Cologne on October 11.