Jose Machino 
After one season at Union, German coach Alexander Blessin has decided to pursue his dream of coaching in the Bundesliga.
Alexander Blessin is leaving Union Saint-Gilloise after one year at the Parc Duden to become coach of FC Sankt Pauli, who have just been promoted to the Bundesliga. The Hamburg-based club made his arrival official on Thursday.
“The clubs have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transfer,” can be read on the Sankt-Pauli website. The duration of Blessin’s new contract is also not specified.
The 51-year-old German coach will be experiencing his first taste of German top-flight football.
Having arrived at the Parc Duden at the start of the 2023-2024 season, Blessin led Union to second place in the league, one point behind Club Bruges, and to victory in the Belgian Cup. This cup win ended an 89-year drought for the Yellow and Blue, who had not won a trophy since their 1935 title. Their last Belgian Cup win was in 1914. These performances earned him the award of Coach of the Year at the Pro League Awards gala in late May.
Blessin had joined Union to take over from Karel Geraerts, who had also left the Yellow and Blue bench after one season. The former Red Devil had replaced Felice Mazzu, who had left for Anderlecht.
Before signing for Union, Blessin had coached Ostend between July 2020 and January 2022, after a spell at Leipzig’s training centre. He notably led the CĂ´tiers to a 5th place finish at the end of the regular season in 2020-2021, after which he was elected Coach of the Year for the first time.
Blessin left Ostend to join Genoa in Italy in January 2022 but was unable to keep the club in Serie A. He was sacked in December 2022.
Danke, Alexander! 💛💙
Our coach Alexander Blessin goes to German side @fcstpauli. pic.twitter.com/nvOxCchbJE
— Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (@UnionStGilloise) June 27, 2024
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